Her Life Under His Control
by fangal7297
Summary: This is a new take on an older episode (2x19) when Liam was in the picture. He finds Callie at the festival and things get violent.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry about t he formatting. Here's the story, I'm not good at chapters, so it's long! Enjoy!**

She turns around in panic, searching for any familiar face. Callie doesn't see Wyatt or Brandon-only strangers. Her breath quickens, her eyes dart left to right, the world is spinning until an arm grabs her and pulls her away from the crowd. The sudden burst of movement causes her to stumble into a tall figure.

She sees an all too familiar face: Liam. He flashes a grin at Callie and she becomes completely still, not wanting to make a wrong move.

Calmly, but firmly she says, "Liam, what are you doing here.

He begins to circle her, clearly enjoying this. She only follows him with her eyes, not brave enough to turn to see his face.

"I just wanted to be at this festival. I was even minding my own business, but your boyfriends spotted me. I think they like you as much as I do." He whispers in her ear.

Callie shrugs away from his hot breath.

"Please, I'll tell them to stop-"

In an instant, overwhelming pain radiates abdomen as she realizes she's doubling over. Her hand innately embraces her side, until another hand grabs her own. His grip tightens on her wrist as he drags her out of sight behind a building with a vacant lot.

He spins her around harshly and exclaims, "You know they'll never stop!"

Callie holds her side, knowing a bruise is forming under her maroon shirt. She looks away from Liam because she knows he right. He grabs her face to make her look him in the eyes. Her eyes dart to each of his, their faces so close that he's out of focus.

She tugs away from, looking down and says, "Just- please, Liam."

"What? Let go?" As he squeezes harder on her wrist, a weak whimper escapes Callie's mouth.

"Fine." He releases her arm and begins to back up. Callie's still looking down, holding her injured hand.

"I have to admit, Callie, your continuing pursuit to find a family is...admirable, but you'll never be a Foster. Not if I'm around."

He runs at her and shoves her against the wall, pinning her there. Her shoulders ground into the rough surface.

"They'll never want someone like you," he snarls.

A wave of courage washes over Callie and she sneers back, "You don't know anything. You're the outsider."

He laughs, his shoulders shake and his head falls back. Callie analyzes him, confused about what is happening. She looks around to find an exit, but looks back at Liam whose laughter turned into rage.

He shoves her back into the wall and her head roughly bounces off of it.

"They can't adopt you if you're dead," he scoffs.

Liam throws her to the ground and kicks her ribs. He pulls her back and knocks her head against the wall. His large hands grip on Callie's shoulders like a vice grip.

=======/===/================

Wyatt runs into Brandon frantically. He grabs his shoulder and says, "Have you seen Callie?"

"No, she's supposed to be with you, I thought?" Brandon questions.

Wyatt runs his hand through his hair anxiously. Brandon spins around, hoping to spot the brunette in the crowd.

"Liam's here," Wyatt reveals, "and I don't know where she is.

Brandon stops and turns to Wyatt, "Wait. He's here? Now?"

Wyatt looks down at his feet, embarrassed. "I didn't think anything would happen; there are so many people here."

"Well, that didn't stop him last time," Brandon angrily responds. He brushed past Wyatt on the lookout.

=======/===/================

"Ah! Lia-" she tries to yell, but instead gasps for air.

Liam looks into her eyes, one is starting to swell up and her nose is bleeding, but that doesn't stop him from clutching harder on her neck.

"St-ah-" Callie chokes out.

"I don't even hate you, Callie, I love you," the corner of his mouth turns up. "And if I can't have you no one can," his slight smile changes to a scowl.

He grips harder and the light in Callie's eyes is dimming. He tightens his grasp and then let's go. She drops to the ground gasping for air; she chokes on the oxygen and puts her hand on the gravel to stabilize herself. Her eyes look to the side and sees Liam's feet which are farther away from her.

She jumps up and runs, deciding to try and break free, but Liam is right behind her. Within arm's reach, Liam grabs at Callie and gets hold of her hair. He yanks her down and she screams.

"You're not going anywhere," he yells, standing over her. She rolls onto one side, small rocks crushing into her face. She waits for pain, but nothing. Her head turns up, looking directly at Liam.

"What are you waiting for? If you're gonna kill me, just do it."

"Kill you? You have the wrong idea, sweetheart, dying would be easy," he says. He kicks her.

"There's an art to living, you have to deal with the blows in life." He kicks her again, and she hits the ground again from the intensity.

"And welcome the adoration."

He pulls her upright, she's almost his height. Liam grabs a fistful of Callie's hair and shoves her face closer to his own. His lips graze her cheek, and a tear falls down it. Liam tastes the saltiness of it, looks at Callie and swings a fist across her face.

=======/===/================

Brandon and Wyatt are now running, worried they won't find her.

"Maybe she left?" Brandon asks, he dashes around some tables to an opening.

"Through the back? It doesn't lead anywhere," Wyatt comments, trying to understand what Callie would do.

They both walk out to the lot and look around. Brandon turns and spots two figures. One body is on the ground and the other is hovering over it.

"Dammit," Brandon exhales.

Wyatt sees the scene, too. Brandon pulls Wyatt back and says, "Liam's with Callie."

"Yeah, I know. We gotta go get her!" Wyatt says, shoving Brandon's hand off his shirt, but Brandon pushes him against the wall.

"If Liam sees us coming, or hears us," Brandon gets quiet, "Callie could get hurt."

"You don't think Callie's already hurt? You saw that right?" Wyatt exclaims, pointing.

Brandon covers his mouth and yells back in a whisper, "Callie could get killed! We need to sneak up on him, catch him off guard."

Wyatt already starts walking behind the buildings, only gaps allow Brandon and Wyatt to see Liam. Brandon looks down at his phone to dial 911.

=======/===/================

Liam crouches by Callie who is leaning on one arm, fatigued and battered. He puts his arm on Callie's shoulder as she stares off, losing any sense of emotion, reality and hope.

He starts to talk and her eyes tiredly look to him, unmoved.

"Maybe we wouldn't be here right now if you weren't such a bitch. We both knew it was consensual.

Brandon is just around the corner and heard everything. He pops out screaming at Liam.

"LIAM GET AWAY FROM HER OR I WILL KILL YOU."

Callie snaps out of her trance when she sees Brandon. All worry and concern immediately goes to his safety.

"Brandon. Leave. Stay away from me! It's too dangerous!" These words cut her on the inside, but she knows it's better for him. She can handle Liam, Brandon can't.

He looks at her sadly, seeing the bruising in her face, the marks on her arms and the rips in her shirt.

"Callie just walk towards me," Brandon calmly says. She shakes her head, backing up and another tear falls down her face.

"Get away from me Brandon, I don't want you here." She says unconvincingly and backs up into Liam. She quickly turns around to him and he nudges her to the side as he walks around, in front of her.

"That's not happening, Foster." Liam threatens.

"Yeah I'm here too, douche bag," Wyatt retorts.

Liam turns around to see Wyatt behind him. He looks between the two boys and chuckles.

"Am I supposed to be scared?" He laughs.

"Come on boys. You don't want me, you want her!"

He grabs Callie so that she's in front of him and he steps backwards so he's between the two boys. He knocks her in the back of her head with something and Callie falls to the ground clutching the back of her neck hard.

"Just me and you now," Liam taunts as he walks over a pain-ridden Callie.

Brandon touches his back pocket still hoping that 911 heard this whole thing and waiting for the police to come.

"Now what, huh?" Brandon challenges.

"Two against one doesn't look good for you, Liam," Wyatt objects.

"Oh, it's not two against one..." Liam walks around Callie so that he's behind her.

"It would be so easy to crush little Callie..."

His shoe hovers over her neck and begins to slowly press down. Her body follows his motion and flattens to the ground. But he starts to put some pressure on her neck from his weight and you can hear her whimpers and moans. He digs into her a little more and her voice makes a guttural sound before giving out from the pain.

Brandon lunges at Liam and knocks him to the ground. Sirens are heard and Liam's eyes scream fear. Brandon packs in three punches to his face while Liam tries to throw Brandon off him.

Liam flips Brandon to the ground, kicking and punching him. Wyatt pushes Liam off Brandon, but quickly gets thrown by Liam.

Liam turns to Callie and he rushes to her-Callie's eyes widen as the police cars screech their brakes nearby. As he grabs her, she screams. He picks her up and her legs kick in the air.

Both Brandon and Wyatt get up and run after Liam as he is running away with Callie.

All of a sudden, she stops kicking and screaming. A small exhaustion of breathe releases and she's silent.

Officers chase after Liam and Stef comes around the corner gun raised, pointed at his face. He stops in his tracks, drops Callie to the ground and puts his hands up, knowing there's no way out. As Stef handcuffs him and pushes him to other officers she sees Callie on her side. She gently lets Callie lay flat on her back and that's when she sees it.

A small knife in her side.

"WE GOT A KNIFE, I NEED A MEDIC!" She screams.

Liam looks back to the both of them as he gets escorted away in handcuffs, grinning.

Callie's eyes flutter, everything she sees is out of focus. It sounds like she's underwater and she can't breathe right.

Callie tries to focus on Stef, but is distracted by the pain from the wound. Her hand jitters and shakes as she brings it to the knife.

"No, no, sweetie. Don't pull that out." Stef says strongly, even though her heart is breaking seeing her baby like this. She grabs Callie's trembling hand and puts it in between hers.

"You're going to be alright, don't you worry. You need to stay with me though, okay honey?" Tears begin to well up in her eyes. "I need you to stay strong, Callie."

The doctors rush to Callie's side and place her on a gurney, blood has seeped through her maroon shirt making a dark circle around the knife.

Stef embraces Brandon in a hug and hops into the ambulance. She begins to call Lena.

Wyatt paces back and forth.

"It's all my fault," he says quietly.

"Wyatt, don't do this to yourself. It's Liam's fault," Brandon says clearly.

"No, you don't get it. She needed ME." He says, getting louder. "Before we went she said she needed me next to her! I left her. And now she's dying."

They are both quiet, realizing that she could be dying.

"She told me how dangerous he is-"

"Was," Brandon interrupts. "Was dangerous. He's in custody now."

"It wasn't soon enough, Brandon! You know that! She was out here alone with him. And now look where we are-on our way to the hospital. Because of me." Wyatt admits.

"None of us know what she went through, Wyatt. But, now, she'll be treated. She'll heal," Brandon says, reassuringly.

"I'll just meet you at the hospital," Wyatt painfully replies, walking away.

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 **Hope you liked it! R &R! Thanks for reading, you rock!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

=======/===/==============

Stef crouches by Callie's gurney. Two medics circle the teen, yelling and passing medical equipment. Their vocabulary confuses both Stef and Callie-who is feeling tortured.

As her eyes dart side to side, she can only make out fuzzy circles too bright to look at. Her frustration comes out as a grunt and Stef jumps to her. An out-of-focus figure comes into Callie's view, she sees a blonde head and she starts to panic. Callie squirms and winces away from Stef who is puzzled by Callie's reaction. Stef then makes the connection to Liam's blonde hair.

"Hey, sweets," Stef whispers, "it's Stef, it's your mama."

Callie begins to relax, identifying the woman. Callie slowly and weakly opens her hand, yet is unable to reach to Stef. Stef looks down and immediately holds Callie with both her hands.

"You're gonna fight, Callie. You are strong, you are going to get through this and I will be right by your side the whole time," Stef indignantly says.

A medic separates the two.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I need to patch her up, she's not going to make it to the hospital without it," The man in blue says.

Stef slowly backs up, shocked that her Callie might not make it. She looks down and sees how much blood Callie has lost; she hadn't realized how hurt her baby was. Stef takes in deep breaths, calming herself down.

=======/===/==============

Lena looks at a display until her phone rings. She nonchalantly picks it up.

"Hey you."

"Hey. Babe." Stef musters out.

"Stef? Is everything okay?" Lena replies, traces of worry are in her voice.

"No…" Stef whispers.

"What? What is it?"

Brandon runs into Lena, out of breath and out of sorts. He holds her arm, under duress.

"Brandon?" Lena questions, and then remembers about Stef on the phone, "Stef, you need to tell me what's going on."

"Liam." Brandon says. "And Callie."

Lena looks into the phone as if she can look at Stef.

"Is it true?"

Brandon nods, tears falling down his face and Stef holding her tears back on the phone.

Lena looks up, trying to stay composed.

"We're on the way to the hospital," Stef reveals.

Lena looks to Brandon, until he breaks their connection by looking at the pavement with guilt.

"We found her. Wyatt and I." Brandon says, still looking to the ground.

"Stef, I'll see you soon," Lena says with love.

Lena opens her arms to Brandon who rushes in for the embrace. They sway, tightening the hug.

Brandon releases first, stepping back.

"Are you okay?" Lena asks, worried.

Brandon just nods, not sure how he feels.

"Callie's not." He says starkly. "Jude…" he continues, not remembering about Callie's brother. "He doesn't know."

"I will tell him, I need to get the kids. Can you get the car?" she asks.

He nods, grabs the keys and leaves.

=======/===/==============

Jesus and Jude are pushing each other around, foolishly knocking into other people.

"Oh, you think you're a tough guy?" Jesus taunts. "Come here!"

Jude runs away, laughing with joy. He looks ahead and sees Lena standing still.

Jesus slows down, wondering why his mom seems upset.

"What is it? We were just playing around…" Jesus says, feeling caught, as if they're in trouble.

"Brandon is getting the car and we need to leave. Jude?" She walks to him, holds his hand and kneels to him.

"Liam found Callie here, and he's in custody now." Jude shakes his head violently, swatting Lena's hands away from his own.

"Jude! We need to go to the hospital to see her." He stops in his tracks.

"Why? Why is he trying to ruin her? Ruin what we have?!" He screams.

Jesus grabs him and pulls Jude into a tight hug.

"Buddy, he'll never ruin us, we're a family and that will never change."

Jude is resisting the hug, trying to squirm away from Jesus, but he only holds tighter.

"He's mad because he doesn't have one." Jesus encourages. Lena looks at Jesus proudly and nods her head.

"Jude, you're the toughest guy I know. Now you have to be strong for Callie." He ruffles up the boy's hair and says, "She's always been strong for you right?"

Jude calms down, smiles a bit through his pain and Jesus puts his arm over his shoulder. They get to the car quickly after having a small moment.

"You'll be okay, Jude?" He asks. "I need to find Mariana."

He runs back into the festival.

=======/===/==============

Mat and Mariana circle a mask store within the event. He tries one on and startles her.

"Oh! Don't do that!" Mariana laughs, shoving the scary mask away.

Jesus comes from behind Mariana and she jumps again.

"We need to go." Jesus says forcefully.

"Jesus, come on, we, like, just got here." Mariana complains.

"No. Something happened. Something happened to Callie. We need to go now." He grabs her hand.

"What?" She says, distressed. She turns back to Mat, "I'm sorry, I really have to go! It's Callie."

"Of course," Mat replies, he walks away disappointed.

Mariana immediately turns to Jesus, "What happened? Is she okay?"

"It was Liam. I don't know, I don't think so with how mom is reacting."

"Wait," she stops. "How is she reacting?"

"She is super serious," he says, "let's keep walking; we're meeting her in the car."

"Is Callie in the car, too?" She asks.

"She's on the way to the hospital, Mariana." He says, swallowing his pain down, trying not to upset Mariana.

=======/===/==============

The nurses and doctors are running down the hall as they roll the gurney with them. Stef is running alongside, too, holding Callie's hand. Her hand is too pale and her lips are no longer the cute pink that Stef loved.

The doctors take a turn and one nurse stops Stef.

"I'm sorry; we have to take her from here. You can wait in the waiting room."

Stef just stands there, stuck. She watches her baby, one she saw smile earlier today during breakfast, almost lifeless in the arms of Liam.

Liam.

She forgot about him, she forgot about the terror that he brings to Callie. The fear that she feels even when he's not around. He will pay for what he did to her Callie. She will make sure of it.

Stef whips out her phone to call Mike. She wants to interrogate him. She wants him to feel as Callie did in that parking lot, so help her God. She rushes out of the hallway, until, she sees Lena. And the kids. Her rage and anger instantly disappears as she sees Jude's face.

Oh, Jude, she thinks.

She goes down on one knee and opens her arms. The little boy runs as fast as he can, almost knocking Stef down. He's shaking, shaking with worry and sadness.

She caresses his face and strokes his hair.

"Oh, sweets. My Jude. Callie's getting taken care of, she's in good hands now. Okay, love?" She looks into his eyes, analyzing him.

"Hi, Hun." She says to Lena. They have a quick kiss, and Stef looks to Brandon.

"We need to talk, B." He looks to Jesus and Mariana.

"Wait," Mariana interrupts, "what happened to Callie, exactly?"

Stef looks to Brandon, then to Jude.

"Brandon found her with Liam, Liam was with her for...a while. I need to find out exactly what happened before I got there. B? Can we talk somewhere else?"

Jude steps in, "No." He demands. "I want to know what happened."

Brandon looks to Jude with concern; he knows Jude won't like it. And that he really doesn't want to hear what happened.

"All that matters, Jude," Brandon starts, "is that Wyatt and I got there and found her. Because she's with us. Isn't that what really matters now?"

Brandon looks to Stef kindly.

"It's-it's just-" Jude stutters. "Liam's hurt her before. And I want to know how bad. It's just because this has happened before. Before you guys. And I need to know, for Callie."

Lena looks at Stef, she thinks it's happened before. Her Callie, abused by this monster, more than once.

Stef exhales and says, "There was a knife, she's in surgery now."

Jude collapses, the Fosters family all gather around him to comfort the poor boy. All except Stef and Brandon, who escape to a more private area.

=======/===/==============

"When we first saw Callie, she was really far away and she was on the ground. I-I think he kicked her. And, um, we ran behind a few buildings, you know, so he wouldn't see us. It was when he cussed at her, that's when I came out. Wyatt a bit later, to surprise him."

"Okay," Stef says, "this is good," with her cop voice.

"Callie kept yelling at me to leave."

Stef looks up to Brandon.

"She looked-beaten. Bloody nose, cuts on her face, bruises, her shirt was torn up and she told me to leave." He says, still stunned.

"And she told me to leave her-leave her with him."

Stef puts her hand on Brandon's shoulder.

"I think she did that for your safety, I don't think she meant it because she didn't want you to save her." Stef replies.

"But, mom," Brandon responds, "she looked awful and broken, even one of her eyes, you know, it was swollen already. He was standing over her like, like he had so much power and she crawled toward him."

"Again, sweets, Callie was trying to protect you. She always protected Jude and I think she felt like she needed to keep you safe. It's very honorable-"

"No, it's stupid." Brandon interrupts.

"Hey." Stef says strictly. "Don't you dare. After what Callie has been through, after what you have been through-seeing Callie like that, approaching Liam, which was not the best of choices, and watching the ambulance drive away, please don't be mad at her. She was doing what she knows best in that situation, love. And as you heard from Jude, this has happened before."

"I KNOW IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE!" He yells. "I was there. With Wyatt and her and how he grabbed her, like it was his right. Wyatt knew Liam was here, he said Callie reacted from something before it all happened."

"Did Wyatt see Liam?"

"No, but Callie said to stay with him and he didn't. He lost her and that's why she's in the hospital right now!" He angrily pushes a magazine off the table.

"You and I both know it wasn't Wyatt's fault. You and I both know even the time with you and Liam at school wasn't the first time for Callie. That girl. That beautiful girl is fighting for her life because of Liam," she croaks out, pointing to the ER.

She regains her strength, and a little bit of anger, "Not because Wyatt lost her in the crowd, not because we didn't come quickly enough, but because he thinks he has the right to put his hands on our Callie. That's the reason."

=======/===/==============

The whole family each sits in separate chairs in the waiting room. Jude is balled up in his seat, Brandon and Jesus are jittering their leg up and down while Stef's head rests on Lena's shoulder. Mariana sits on her own, wondering what Callie is thinking.

A doctor enters the room and Jesus is the first one to react and jump up to him. Lena nudges Stef a little to wake her up. The Fosters are all very alert.

"The parents of Callie Foster?" The doctor asks.

The two nod in agreement.

"Come with me, please."

Mariana loses her grip with Lena's hand as she looks back supportingly.

Jesus, Brandon, and Mariana all turn back around, they see Jude asleep in a fetal position and look to each other with faint smiles.

"How is she?" Stef nervously asks.

"She's stable right now. But I have a few concerns. The blade damaged some vital organs, but we managed to save what we could. Recovery will be slow for her and slightly painful, as she will struggle with sitting up and twisting. We ran a few scans, and I have to ask. Has Callie been battling PTSD?"

The women look to each other, unexpectedly curious.

"I'm sorry, PTSD? Isn't that what soldiers usually suffer from?" Lena asks.

"In most cases yes, but this can also occur in abusive relationships or any sort of domestic violence. Is everything okay at home?"

Lena looks down; Callie's file comes to mind, knowing the girl's history with countless foster homes.

"Callie was a foster child who was placed in many different homes, some violent, we suspect."

"Ah, yes. That explains some follow up questions I had. Her healing ability is compromised, by this, it means that because of her past injuries, some still have not yet fully healed-like, strain fractures in both wrists, a bruised rib, and lasting effects of a concussion. This intensifies the current injuries, as the body is trying to compensate for past and present problems. She must have been walking around before the attack with a substantial amount of pain?" The doctor questions.

Stef and Lena are speechless.

"W-Wait-" Stef stutters, "are you saying that the previous violence, prior to Liam, was something she's still dealing with?"

"I never knew," Lena says to herself.

"Yes, it seems to be. Now, with her current injuries from today-"

"There's more?" Lena says.

"I'm sorry to say, but yes. On top of her bruised rib, two were broken and the third was bruised. Her abdomen muscle is pulled, her left wrist," he pauses, reading his medical report, "has a significant bone fracture and the wound from the knife received stitches. Finally, she has cosmetic scratches and bruises upon her face, one eye is swollen shut and the ligaments in her neck are bruised, thus causing the black and blue to be vertical."

Lena grabs Stef's hand for support, suddenly she feels sick to the stomach.

"That is all I have to report back to you, she can have visitors, but she is not awake. I noticed you have a family, and I would warn them about what she's hooked up to and her appearance.

=======/===/==============

 **That's it for chapter 2. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading! R &R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is the third chapter! Hope you like it!**

=======/===/==============

After going in to see Callie, the two women go back to the kids. Mariana approaches them first.

"So, what did the doctors say? Can we see her?" She anxiously asks.

"Callie's pretty banged up." Stef answers. "She's still asleep right now and we are cleared to go in there-"

Jude immediately starts walking toward the room, but Lena cuts him off.

"Jude, we want to warn you of a few things, okay hun?" Lena says sweetly.

"She's got an IV in her arm, her color is pale and she's got a lot of bruises," she continues, but Jude shoves her away and walks down the hall.

He turns around and says, "This isn't the first time I've seen her like this, so stop treating me like a baby."

The whole family looks at each other, a little stunned at Jude, yet upset by his statement, too.

They ultimately follow him into the room and they all gasp a little when they see her because it was worse. It was worse than what Lena explained. Jude is lying on the bed already, gently holding Callie, shaking, and silently crying.

Mariana's tears flow as she sees her sister so beaten by Liam. In their late night conversations, Callie would tiptoe around describing him, and she could see how she'd avoid her past. She thinks, _if I only knew, or even asked her more, maybe Callie wouldn't be here._

Jude whispers to Callie, "I'm here, now. I'll be strong for you."

Callie's hand twitches. She slowly-very slowly, manages to move it to Jude's side. Her eyes are just slits, barely open and the side of her mouth curls up a bit.

All at once, the family overlaps sayings of "Hey, Callie, you're awake!"

Callie begins swallowing the pain down so Jude wouldn't be scared. She moves her hand to her throat and winces, but tries to stay quiet for little Jude.

She readjusts, and opens her eye fully because the other is still shut.

"Hmm," she groans out, trying to say hi. Her neck is the most painful; her vocal cords are strained from screaming and from _his_ hands. Her voice no longer is sweet; instead, it's raspy and shallow.

"Jude," she continues. He grips her hand, and she lets out a whine, the pain coming from her wrist. Jude immediately shoots his hand back, not wanting to cause Callie any discomfort. But she starts to reach to him again, and they reconnect.

"My baby," Stef says. "I'm so relieved."

Mariana walks up to her and puts an arm across Callie's body, trying to give her a soft hug.

She whispers into Callie's ear, "I'm sorry I never knew."

Callie looks to Mariana as she backs away. Both of their eyes well up and Callie gives her a forgiving smile, because it never was Mariana's burden, never her fault.

Lena asks, "How are you feeling?"

Callie lets out a sigh and responds, "I've been better. Happier that I'm seeing all of you." She looks around at her family- _her_ Fosters.

Jesus holds onto Jude and looks at Callie, "I'm glad you're safe now, Callie. You had all of us real worried. Jude, want to get a snack?"

Jude looks to Callie, almost for approval and she nods. They leave.

Callie looks to Lena and Stef, her barrier of strength crashing down.

"It hurts," she cries. Callie shakes her head, unable to stop the pain. She moves her hand to her side, hovering above it-her hand shaking.

"Oh, sweets," Stef goes to her.

Mariana and Brandon look to each other, broken.

"It-it was Li-Liam." She stutters.

"I know," Stef responds, "he's in custody now, he will not touch you."

Callie looks up, relieved, trying to keep her tears in and she looks back to the moms.

"Really? It's over?"

Lena sits near to her, "Yes, Callie, it's over."

=======/===/==============

"Hey buddy," Jesus starts, snacking on some pretzels. "What did you mean when you said 'this has happened before'?"

Jude looks down, not wanting to admit his past, but Jesus offers him the bag and feels comfortable.

"Well, when we-when we were in other houses, they'd pick on her. Never me, she made sure of that. She never went to the hospital, so she got good at this."

"What?" Jesus asks, confused.

"Getting hurt. She'd make her own braces, teach me how to heal and stuff. Like, if I was sad, she'd tell me a funny story or, if she was bleeding, we'd put a bandage on it."

"Did this happen a lot?" Jesus curiously questions.

"Well, we lost count, but the last number I remember was-I think-four houses? And then Liam? I dunno." He gets quiet.

"And then Liam," Jesus repeats, mad.

There's a beat, silence from both boys.

"Now that you saw her, how bad was she? Compared to the other times…" Jesus trails off.

"Well," Jude's voice goes up an octave higher, feeling nervous and unsure.

"Only once. She wasn't stabbed before, but our foster father came home drunk. I guess she looked like his ex-wife when they first met? At least, that's what he would slur, he never spoke straight. So, one night she told me to hide in the closet. We'd always pick a safe room. I never saw it happen. I only heard it. I tried not listening. I tried Callie's advice-"

"Her advice?" Jesus interrupts.

"Cover my ears and hum a tune. It didn't work. Not that night. Once it was over, she barely got up the stairs, I had to drag her into the room, and-" Jude stops, regaining his voice.

"And, we started again. We started healing. She had bruises everywhere on her body and I had them in my mind, that's what we call it because bruises fade away. So, if you can't forget something that's scary, think of it as a bruise and it will fade away. She'd help me with mine, and I'd help with hers. That's what we do."

Jesus just sits there, letting Jude's story process in his head.

=======/===/==============

Brandon and Mariana whisper to each other outside Callie's room in the hallway.

"She looks...bad, Brandon." Mariana mumbles.

"I know," he puts his arm around her and she curls up inside his hug.

"We couldn't find her…" he says to her, quietly.

Mariana looks into Brandon's sad, helpless eyes.

"Did he do anything to her when you were there? In front of him?" She says, scared of the answer.

"Yes," he exhales. "He hit her in the back of the head with something. I'm guessing it was the handle of the knife. When she was down, on the ground, he threatened us by using her."

Mariana keeps looking at him, engaged, hoping the story will get better.

She apprehensively asks, "How?"

"He...uh…" Brandon becomes quiet, "had his shoe on her neck, pushing down. That's when I lost it. That moment," he confesses.

She holds him tighter, "You saved her."

He lets go. Not comprehending what Mariana said.

"Yes," she continues, "if he was with her any longer, any longer, she wouldn't be here-not in that room. Brandon, you saved Callie."

He breaks down. He knows it's true, and _she could've died_ , he thinks. Brandon slides down the wall and sits on the tiled floor, crying. Mariana sits with him, holding his hand, her head on his shoulder and she can't hold back her tears anymore.

=======/===/==============

Mike rushes into the hospital, looking for Stef, who is just walking out of Callie's room. Stef sees her kids on floor and crouches to them.

"Stef." Mike calls out to her. She looks over her shoulder and sees him in his uniform. Stef looks back to Brandon and Mariana; they both stand up, leaving Stef with Mike.

"Stef." He repeats. Her face turns cold.

"The Olmstead's bailed him out. It was set high, real high. And he's out." Mike reveals.

"I'm already getting a restraining order processed," he continues. Stef just stares at him, unable to wrap her head around it.

"How much." She seethes.

"$250,000."

She scoffs, puts her hand to her face, frustrated.

"I'll help you. We should get back to the department." Stef says, starting to leave.

"You know that's not what you need to do." Mike calls out, not moving. "I've got it handled, you need to stay here. With Callie."

She stops when she hears her name. She leans over, putting her hands on her knees, releasing any stress she can.

"I know," Stef weeps. Her shoulders shake uncontrollably and Mike rushes to her.

"Hey, now." He comforts her.

"We'll get the order and he won't be able to ever come near her." He reassures.

"It's just. It's just I told that girl he would never touch her again." Stef admits.

"He won't." Mike says confidently.

"I made a promise, Mike. How am I going to tell her that he's just roaming the town? She'll never sleep knowing he's out there." Stef angrily states.

"We'll get the restraining order, she'll never have to know because he'll never get within 100-500 feet from her!" He passionately yells.

=======/===/==============

The doctor comes into Callie's room with a clipboard. He looks to her, she's propped up on pillows, staring at different objects in the room. She's looking slightly better after two days of full resting.

"Hi, Callie," the doctor says, her eyes shift to his. She remains still.

"You're family is still here, I just wanted to talk to you privately, do you mind?" He asks.

She gives a weak smile and shakes her head no. She cringes a little from the pain in her neck, remembering not to do that.

"You have a long history of injuries-"

"I have a long history of foster homes." Callie says, cutting off the doctor.

"Right…" he says, not sure how to approach the subject. "You and I know that some of those homes were violent. Yes?"

"Yes, there were a lot of drunken angry fathers." She clarifies.

"Can you tell me about your experience with them? Even when you changed homes, did you ever have a problem with coping, mentally, with your injuries?" The doctor circles around, trying to subtly control the conversation.

"Well, yeah. I mean, everything healed, and it took a lot of time. But it was all physical. I guess I'd flinch if someone raised their hand up fast, but that was more of a reflex than a reaction?" She answers, unsurely, wondering if it was correct.

"Unfortunately, Callie," he walks closer. "Your previous injuries never completely restored to their original state. Did you have any pain in your wrist? Your ribs? Before coming here?"

"No," she says flatly. "They didn't hurt."

The doctor nods, intrigued. He thinks, _this girl has an extreme capacity of pain_. The doctor is a little bit impressed by Callie's capabilities.

"Okay, that's good. It's a little surprising though," he teases, "because you already had a bruised rib and strain fracture in your wrist. Both somewhat painful injuries…" He fades, waiting for her to say something.

She doesn't.

"But, nevertheless, you're pain-free in that regard."

Callie bursts out laughing, then immediately clutches her side, smiling at the irony of her situation.

"Things like laughter are going to agitate your side, sorry." He starts to smile, not helping the situation.

"On a serious note, we ran a brain scan." He states.

"So, what?" Callie asks, not seeing the necessity.

"Have you heard of post traumatic stress disorder, Callie?"

Her face falls from the smile.

"Yeah, I've heard of it." Putting her guard up again.

"In your scan, we identified some effects and common symptoms your brain had with PTSD. Can you recall if you struggle with this, or ever had a problem with being unable separate reality from fantasy?"

"Fantasy? Like dreams?" She asks.

"More like nightmares." He replies.

"I can't recall any particular moments, but I've had dreams about Liam and my foster fathers."

"Have you ever had those dreams while you were awake? PTSD is very similar to that concept."

She thinks back. _Yes,_ she thinks, d _o I really want to tell him?_

"Maybe once. It wasn't a big deal. I just mixed someone up." She admits, embarrassed.

"Only once?" He leans in, trying to look into her eyes. "You need to be honest with me, because if I know how severe it is, I can treat it." He calmly and supportingly says to the girl.

"Maybe a few times, and usually it only happened with Liam. I just was always looking over my shoulder, because he could always pop up." She reveals.

The doctor exhales, "Good. I'm glad you said that. I'll send in our psychiatrist-"

"I don't need some shrink, doc." She cuts him off, frustrated.

"Well, Callie, sections in your brain are being stressed and over-used to endure your trauma. The line is becoming unclear between the faces of your aggressors and the faces of strangers. This is common with people in your situation."

"People in my situation," she scoffs.

"Yes, those in abusive relationships and domestic violence. However, your case is a little unique. Your brother, Jude, I'm assuming doesn't have any traumatic stress. He acts average and common to all other boys his age. This is unique because of your same history with foster homes. Usually, the case is that both victims of violence would have fears. Your brother doesn't display any symptoms."

"He never dealt with the violence. He never got near the savage foster fathers that would come into the house screaming. No, I never let Jude be arms length away from those men. I'd tell him to hide. So, that's probably why," she says strongly. Proud of protecting the most thing important to her.

"That would make sense. Callie, while you may continue to have trouble, you allowed Jude to be free from it. Not an easy feat, may I tell you, on a medical level. The amount of isolation and powerful self-esteem has to be carefully balanced. You did a good thing, an improbable thing, really," the doctor says, fascinated by Callie's relentlessness of keeping her brother safe.

"The shrink's still gonna come?"

"The shrink is still going to come." The doctor answers and leaves the room.

=======/===/==============

 **Thanks again for reading the story! R &R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Thanks for following and favoriting, here's chapter four!**

=======/===/==============

The next day, Callie is asleep in her hospital bed and Brandon looks over her. He's been there for hours, watching her live, even something as simple as sleep, is better than his nightmares of watching her die.

"Little do you know," Brandon whispers, his chin on his arms, resting, "how scared I was. Not because of Liam, not because of what he'd do to me, but what he did to you. I yelled, and I screamed at him, but inside, I was screaming for you. To take your pain away and to make it mine. How I wish I could."

He gently holds her hand, but craves for a hug. He sighs. She sleeps soundly, beautifully even. Her hair is knotted and in a mess, but Brandon thinks how cute it is. _She must roll around in her sleep,_ he thinks.

He stops. No. _She can't._ Callie hasn't been able to twist, sit up, and laugh, even because of the cut in her side. The deep cut, one that cut into Brandon, too.

"For you, I'd do anything. So, I'll wait. I'll wait for you to heal, Callie. You'll become a better person. One that doesn't have to worry about Liam-or foster homes or harm...You found your family, you found us..."

"Oh, Callie," Brandon says, just looking at her. He composes himself, but it doesn't make him any less sad. He remains, watching Callie breathe, her chest rising and falling.

"You found me…" Callie whispers with a smile. She squeezes Brandon's hand. He looks down, embarrassed, but looks up back to her. They just look into each other's eyes, smiling.

"Hey," she says.

"Hi," Brandon responds, not sure what else to say.

"How long have you been here?" Callie asks, "I woke up and you were already talking."

"A while, just keeping you company."

Callie scrunches her face up thinking _how can I keep you company?_

Brandon continues, "Well, I guess, you were keeping me company."

"Good," she says, putting another hand on top of his. She gives him a kind smile; a forgiving one, even.

"Thank you...for coming when you did." Callie adds, looking down at their hands.

She sees some scratches on hers and a nasty bruise extending from her cast. Brandon's knuckles are inflamed, and a bit cut from the punches he threw.

"Look at our battle wounds," she laughs, trying to ease the silence.

Suddenly and rapidly a reminder of Liam's knife becomes all she can focus on. Her hand instantly grabs at her side, wanting to pull out her pain. She can't.

Brandon nervously watches Callie's reaction. He jumps up and freezes with his hands out, not sure how to help.

"Callie!"

"Ah," she grunts. "I'm fine," she answers huskily.

"Pain is a side effect of laughter, it's a medical condition." She looks to him, her face wrinkles, holding back her giggles. She swallows them down and gives a wide smile.

"I could die of laughter!"

Then she realized what she said. Brandon looks at her speechless, and they both grasp on to the layer of truth behind the joke.

They return to silence.

Lena pops her head in and says, "Hey B, we're having dinner soon, did you want to stay here?"

Callie intrudes, "No, he's going with you."

Brandon looks to Callie, pleading.

"You need to eat dinner that isn't hospital food. It's bad enough that I have to, I'm not making you suffer with me!" She says to him.

Lena looks to Brandon for his approval and after a beat, Brandon stands up and smoothes his shirt.

"I'll see you soon, Brandon."

He nods and leaves with Lena.

=======/===/==============

The Fosters sit at the table, but are all aware of the empty seat. The kids are glad to be eating "home" food, but miss Callie's company.

"So, uh, I have a wrestling match pretty soon, it's against our rivals. You guys should totally come, it'll be really good." He says uneasy, trying to relieve the tensions at the table.

"That's great, sweets," Stef says encouragingly.

Jude slams down his drink, it spills a little from the force. He remains at the table, but his frown is turning into a grimace; tears begin to well in his eyes, but they never fall. He continues to eat.

Mariana looks to Jude empathetically, she knows what he's thinking about. She grabs his hand and looks him in the eyes.

"Jude, we know Callie's not here and we're trying not to bring it up to hurt your feelings-well, all our feelings, to be honest."

"No, you're forgetting her. I can't forget!" He yells.

"We are not doing that...it's not our intention, Jude." Lena starts. "But we can't stay sad forever, she's recovering and it will take time. It's nice to be distracted sometimes."

"At least _you_ can." He storms out, off to his room.

They all look; Brandon stands up and follows him.

There's a knock on Jude's door, he looks at Brandon's kind eyes. He sits next to Jude, they don't say anything.

Brandon sighs, looking at Jude who is staring straight ahead; unmoved.

"She's all I have," Jude admits, still peering off into the abyss.

"You know that's not true," Brandon quickly replies. "You and Callie have me, Jesus, Mariana and the moms. You have us."

"She's all I had." He reasons. "You guys won't understand the shadow that walks with us. The Fosters won't know about our Foster homes. And I get it, you'll be sad for me and look at me like you are now," he says. Brandon changes his face, becoming more conscious about his body language.

"And I don't want your pity. And only Callie understands, she treats me normally. You guys do, too; until, something is revealed about our past. I'm just frustrated.

"It's not pity, Jude, it's compassion, tenderness, a comfort for someone who is hurting, or hurt. But now that I know, I'll try not to react in the way that offends you. Since my eyes bother you, I'll just stare at you like this!"

Brandon widens his eyes so that he looks crazy, he smiles at him and leans in towards Jude.

Jude laughs and wiggles away.

"No!" He shrieks and pushes Brandon away, smiling.

=======/===/==============

Callie lies in the room alone. Boredom is becoming intolerable as she just looks around at the bland room, at its unforgiving fluorescent lights, and to an empty quiet room.

 _Relief,_ she thinks. The peaceful silence is surprisingly welcoming. For a moment in time, no one is looking at her disappointedly, no one is worrying for her and she can just be. She can be quiet, she can be serene. She can relax.

A man in scrubs backs into her room, finishing a conversation with a nurse.

"Callie Foster?" He asks, turning around.

She immediately tenses up. Recognizing his voice. The man in scrubs is looking down at his clipboard. Callie frantically looks around for a phone, for a knife, for anything.

"Ah, hey Callie," he says, grinning, and looks up.

Words can't escape her mouth, yet her mind is screaming at _him_.

=======/===/==============

 **Ooh, cliffhanger! Wait and see what happens in Chapter 5! R &R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! Sorry for taking a while on writing this chapter. Please read and enjoy!**

=======/===/==============

Callie sees Liam's face. A face she thought that was behind bars far away. Yet, here it is, hauntingly in front of her. All her pain is suddenly rushing back as she tenses every muscle, ready to withstand any blows. She clenches her fists even though her wrists object the movement.

He walks towards her and away, pacing slowly, thinking.

Callie frantically looks around for anything to defend herself with. She sees a plastic spoon from her tasteless pudding, the tray from her dinner and nothing else near to use as an attack object.

He's at the side of her bed now. Callie's legs start to shake, she tries to keep them calm, but it's getting more challenging to keep her fear concealed. She's taking in deep breaths, trying to focus on her breathing rather than Liam.

She looks to him, he puts his arm out to her and she instantly shoves it away, fighting back. Callie aggressively punches into his arm.

She looks up and sees a blond with glasses instead of the monster she's scared of.

She shakes her head hard, rapidly blinking and sees his face again. Liam is holding onto her shoulders as she fights underneath his powerful grip.

More doctors rush into the scene, her eyes grow wide. _Why are they helping him?_ She thinks. Where Liam once stood is a young man in scrubs with a cropped hair cut.

Four other nurses surround Callie; she blinks again, trying to get the picture straight in her head. She finally calms down, and an overwhelming soreness overtakes her. She becomes light-headed, dizzy and everything begins to fade into darkness.

=======/===/==============

Stef and Lena tensely sit upright listening to the doctor.

"Callie had an episode today, and it should be something you are aware of because it will continue...this will be a long road to recovery."

Lena interrupts, frustrated, "Can you please tell me exactly what happened?"

"She recognized her therapist as Liam."

"Well, she needs a different therapist if this is what happens when he comes." Stef adds.

"Well…" The doctor sighs, "He is actually good for her-"

The doctor doesn't finish his sentence as Stef jumps up towering over the man. He pauses and she sits back down, calming herself.

The doctor resumes, "this is true because he challenges her mind-"

"But if he causes an episode, isn't that-that dangerous?" Lena stutters, unable to wrap the concept around her head.

"If she does have an attack, he can talk her through it and give her tactics to combat it."

"He seems to be the problem." Stef mutters.

The doctor shifts his eyes to Stef's and locks with hers; hearing her comment.

"He will remain as her therapist. Thank you for your insights. Callie's best interest is my priority. This will be beneficial to her overall. If she has an attack in public-or not in a controlled situation- she will panic. Here, we can create a routine that she can use if in case this happens to another individual who looks like him. "

Lena sighs, stands up with the doctor and shakes his hand.

"Thank you," she sternly says. He leaves.

Lena turns back to Stef, she puts her arms up.

"What's going to happen now? Is she just going to have attacks?!"

Stef comes to comfort Lena, holding her and whispering in her ear.

"Hun, I don't like it either. He seems sure of his decision. And we can talk to Callie to hear what she thinks. Okay, babe?"

Lena nods and exhales.

"Okay."

=======/===/==============

"It's like he was here and I-I, I thought he was coming after me," Callie confesses to the moms. "I think his hair is what set me off; it's not that big of a deal. I just got confused." She nonchalantly says, trying to cover up her emotions.

"Callie, you don't have to be ashamed of this. Your trauma will have effects and I'm guessing this is one of them."

"My 'trauma,'" Callie retorts, rolling her eyes.

"Sweetie," Lena says to her, "Liam and your foster homes exposed you to a life-a violent life and someone like you, no, anyone like you would have similar symptoms."

"What does someone like _me_ mean?" She says coldly. Callie's put up her wall.

"That's not fair-"

"You want to talk about fair?!"

"HEY!" Stef yells. She stops and lowers her voice, "What's going on with you?"

Stef holds Callie's hand. Callie looks down to their embrace and she breaks it.

"I just want-I'm tired. Can I just rest." She says blankly says.

Stef looks to Lena and they slowly get up to leave. Callie turns her head to the other side, shutting them out.

"Do you want to see Jude, Callie? Would that help?" Lena asks.

Callie doesn't say anything. She doesn't move.

Stef looks to Lena again, worried.

Callie nods.

=======/===/==============

Brandon sits in the waiting room, on his phone, trying to distract himself from his own life.

Wyatt walks on.

"What the hell took you so long?" Brandon angrily asks.

"Hey, man, I had to clear my head. Come on."

He barters.

"Whatever, dude. It's not like she's dying or anything."

Wyatt stops. Unsure.

"She's not though, right?" He asks insecurely.

"She was. When she first came in. When you said you'd meet me here. But she's recovering."

"I'm sorry, Brandon."

Brandon walks past him and stops, but doesn't look back.

"You need to give your statement to the cops. Stef is here." And he leaves.

Wyatt sits. Regretting everything that's happened since Liam.

Stef walks up to him, "Hey, Wyatt."

He looks up to her with watery eyes.

"You okay, bud?"

He clears his throat.

"I, um, guess I should give you my statement?"

She sits down next to him.

"Is that something you want to do right now? I'll be asking a lot of questions after, it might be...intense."

He nods.

"So, um, where should I start?" He asks, not knowing the answer.

"Well, how about when you first saw Liam and when you last saw Callie."

"Yeah, okay. It was during the festival, I saw him like walking, or something, nearby I think?" His voice goes a little higher.

He clears it and returns to his memory.

"First. Callie never wanted to be alone. That's my fault, and I'm sorry. She kept telling me to stick by her and at one point; I must have walked away or got distracted by the festival because I lost her. I was searching everywhere and then I made the connection. She was gone because of Liam."

"You can't blame yourself, Wyatt. Now, did you see her with Liam at all when he first took her?"

"No. I never saw anything until later when Brandon and I got out to the lot. We saw two people really far away. One was standing over the other; Callie was crumpled on the ground. I just knew it was her right then. Liam's strong, so we needed to catch him off guard and surprise him. We snuck behind to get closer and then approached him… Well more like yelled at him. I hit him a few times…" He nervously adds, not wanting to get charged for it.

"I'm sure it was self defense. As he had already attacked Callie and he would've attacked you, had you not defended yourself," Stef smiles. They both know what she means; no way would Wyatt be in trouble.

"The confrontation. When you were in front of Liam, did he do anything to harm Callie?"

Her voice doesn't go up to question; rather, it gets stronger, trying to hide the pain.

"He hit her in the back of the head with something and stepped on her neck."

Stef looks up to him, revolted.

"He what?"

"She was lying there and we were advancing, so he applied pressure by his foot on her neck. Brandon tackled him to the ground before any real damage could be done. He saved her."

Stef looks at Wyatt a little longer, reading him.

"You both did."

He looks down.

"Is that enough?" He doesn't make eye contact with her.

She stays quiet, looking at him. He finally looks up, waiting for her reply.

"You did well, Wyatt. If I have any more questions, I'll let you know. Callie isn't in the best mood right now, but I'm sure she'll feel better once you see her."

"Oh, I'm not going in yet," Wyatt recoils.

Stef, surprised, asks, "Are you sure? She won't be mad at you, if that's what you're worried about?"

"I… Uh, don't think she's ready to see the guy that lost her. You know, and let this all happen."

Stef puts her arm on his shoulder, squeezes it with a smile and walks away.

He sighs and remains there.

Lena walks in with Jude whose eyes find Wyatt. The little boy's face lights up and he runs to hug him.

"Jude, hey man."

He doesn't let go, squeezing harder and harder.

"You're here! Come in and see Callie!"

Lena looks to Wyatt who stands there, frozen.

"You know, Jude, she's not feeling so great and she said she just wants to see you."

Jude has a puzzled look on his face.

"She knows Wyatt's here and-"

"Callie doesn't know I'm here and I don't want that to change." Wyatt admits.

Jude turns to Wyatt and let's go of the hand he was holding. He backs up and enters Callie's room.

"She'll come around to you, don't worry, okay?"

Wyatt just nods and slumps back into his seat.

=======/===/==============

Callie, her head turned to the window, stares outside. Unmoved by the butterflies and blooming flowers.

Jude sits down on her bed; she turns, audibly sighs and automatically spews out, "Can I just be alone?"

But she realizes it's Jude.

"Why are people saying that?!" He erupts.

"Baby, I didn't know it was you, come here."

She grabs him and puts his head on her shoulder. She winces silently, but enjoys her brother's comfort.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't meant for you," she whispers in his ear.

"But, Jude?" She makes him look at her. "This might be tough to hear, but you'll need to get used to this. Just you and the moms, okay?" She holds her brother tight, tears brimming her eyes.

"What are you talking about? You'll get better, the doctors said you'll get better!" He begins to yell.

"Yes, I know. But getting better has a price tag. And Liam made sure that even if I didn't die, I wouldn't be with the Fosters."

Jude shakes his head, unable to process her words.

"I know, I know you don't want to hear this right now," she chokes out, "but I wanted to warn you. They're not going to want a 50,000 dollar tag on some foster kid and they for sure-"

"Will stick with you no matter what," Lena finishes.

Callie's eyes shift to Lena's; surprised that she heard what she was saying to Jude. She walks closer to Callie.

"Is this worrying you? The expenses? Honey. You have no reason to worry about you. Liam failed."

A tear falls down Callie's cheek.

"Because he didn't know how great you are and how we'd pay any amount to keep you with us. All you need to focus on is healing, and loving. Loving you and us. Please, have more faith in us. I know that is a tall order because of how many times it bit you bud. Have faith in us. We have faith in you.

Callie's tears fall uncontrollably.

=======/===/==============

 **Thanks for sticking with me! Shout out to Yurihentai641** **for helping me on a future story line you'll see in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter!**

=======/===/==============

The next evening, Wyatt peers through the door that leads into Callie's room. Nervous and insecure, he shifts his weight and remains at the doorway.

Callie looks up and sees Wyatt. Confusion and sadness washes over her. _Why hasn't he seen me?_ She thinks.

She looks him up and down, she sees his hunched shoulders, his low head, and his hair almost as messy as hers, dangling by his shoulders.

"Come in already," she groans, and gives a weak smile, but it soon fades away.

He steps in, the room full of tension.

"Hey, Callie." He says, distracted by all the monitors and machines making noise.

"Sit down," Callie says, invitingly.

He looks at the edge of the bed, and then looks to the chair. He sits in the chair, not brave enough to be so close.

Callie leans into Wyatt, looking up to him.

"You okay? Talk to me." She encourages.

She sees the pain and guilt on his face.

"He was gonna come anyway," she whispers.

Wyatt looks to her, a bit shocked.

"It was only a matter of time, so…" she tries to continue, but doesn't know how to comfort him.

"...Save me next time." She jokes, but it's even too dark for Wyatt.

"I came back, so it'd be twice," he replies with a shy laugh. "But, I did leave you, so I guess you're right, the first doesn't count."

Everything is serious again. Callie looks down, uncomfortable with his underlying truth.

He continues, "I just-I lost you, and I turned around for a minute. I didn't think-"

"No one does." She responds coldly. "But I'm not angry with you." Callie bargains.

Overwhelming sadness enters the room and disappointment creeps in after.

"I know, he came before, and I should've expected it, Callie." He says with sorrow.

"That's not when it started, not at the school… Can we just be friends again?" She asks.

"Tell me about him, you never told me anything. I'm all ears, if you want to."

Callie rolls her eyes, "I'm tired of talking about him, what's going on with the rest of the world?" She teases.

"Well, you've missed a lot of school and you won't be copying my homework."

"No way! It's always wrong!" Callie jests.

"Oh! I see how it is!" He says, offended.

"This...I want this…" Callie says, slowing the conversation. "Not sympathy for the situation, just normal. Thank you."

"Well, you need a shower. Bad."

Mariana walks into the room, laughing.

"I didn't know how to approach that subject," she giggles. "But I'm glad we're talking about that. And just, like a complete makeover? We can shop online, Callie! And then, when you're ready, we can go out to the stores to try them all on!"

"Mariana, I hate to break it to you, but I will never be ready for that day!" She says, sarcastically serious.

Mariana bickers, "Missy, I will make you ready for that day, just you wait!"

Wyatt looks back and forth from the girls, baffled.

"That's my cue. Callie..." He looks to her. "Get well soon."

He leaves. Mariana squeals, and sits on the bed.

"So he came back, what did you guys say? Anything about me?"

"You wish, but no. What time is it? Moms let you come this late?" Callie asks, confused.

"Yeah, they're at home and it's like 11, but I wanted a sleepover, so...here I am!"

"Hmm...okay. Well, I'm going to participate in the actual sleeping part...but you can stay with me!" Callie responds, smiling.

"You're a simple person, aren't you?" Mariana says sarcastically.

"The simplest! But seriously. Lights out."

And with that, Callie turns out the lights and pulls up her covers.

"Callie...are you still awake?" Mariana whispers.

After a moment of silence, Mariana can hear Callie snickering.

"You underestimate me, I was taking a power nap!" Callie laughs.

"Fine, if it's sleep in a sleepover you want, a sleep in a sleepover you will get-but I won't let you forget that it's weird."

Both girls giggle, wondering how they'll ever actually fall asleep. Yet, somehow, within a few minutes of quiet, they are both fast asleep.

=======/===/==============

In the middle of the night, around 2 A.M., Callie's head thrashes and her arms flail.

"Please. Stop."

Mariana stirs, groggy.

"Not tonight, how about tomorrow, okay?"

Mariana sits up, confused.

"Please, get off. You're hurting me!" She wails.

Mariana jumps up to the side of Callie's bed.

"Callie! What's going on? Wake up!"

"Ow. I'm not ready! Stop!"

Mariana grabs her shoulders and carefully shakes her, trying not to injure Callie.

Callie takes hold of Mariana's wrists and struggles with moving them away from her.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna tell!"

Mariana runs out of the room, frantically searching for a doctor.

"I need help! My sister is freaking out! Or having a nightmare or something!" She screams.

A nurse and doctor follow Mariana into Callie's room, but the nurse stops Mariana at the doorway.

"Just for precautions, we need you to wait outside." She kindly says.

Mariana sits in a chair in the waiting room, stunned. She immediately pulls out her phone and calls Stef, crying.

"MOM! Something happened to Callie! You need to come; I don't know what it is. She was having a nightmare, but the doctors rushed in and now I don't know what's happening anymore. They won't let me in the room.

Stef had already jumped out of bed when the phone rang, knowing there was trouble.

"Babe, you need to breath. I'm just getting into my car," Stef reassures.

"Please," she weeps.

"I'm on my way, hold on, honey." Stef's heart breaks.

=======/===/==============

Stef bursts through the hospital doors and runs to hug Mariana who latches onto her like a vice grip.

"Hey, I'm here now. Are you okay?" Stef asks, holding her daughter close.

"It's not me, it's Callie. She woke me up and had some nightmare, but the doctors seemed really concerned. I don't know what happened! She was saying these weird things and I just couldn't get her to wake up! I couldn't help her!" Mariana escalates her worry into sobs.

Stef holds her head and rocks her side to side.

"Nightmares can be scary, remember yours? I'm sure it's just the same." She reassures.

"I think it was about Liam," Mariana says, barely audible.

Stef looks at her, all the kindness is gone from her face.

"How would you know that, Mariana?"

Mariana looks to the floor, uncomfortable with what Callie was saying. She couldn't say it herself.

Stef grabs her hand, "You need to tell me so I can help Callie, sweetie. We both want her to feel better-"

"But she's not better!" Mariana interjects half concerned, half angry.

"I think Liam did something to her that she can't get better from! These nightmares seemed terrifying; I was surprised how she moved, like nothing was hurt or broken."

"The nightmares will subside, the doctors can assist with that."

"It seemed like...like she had to do something against her will. She kept saying stop, and get off. I assumed it was from the attack? I tried to shake her, but she wouldn't budge."

"That's good, honey. I'm glad you told me. You won't need to worry about Callie, she'll get through this. Just like you did."

"This is worse, Mom."

The doctor comes in and nods his head to the side. Stef walks over to him, separating herself from Mariana.

"What happened? She was okay, until some nightmare?" Stef worriedly asks.

"These seem to be frequent occurrences, has she ever had something like this before when she was at your home?"

Stef thinks back, but comes up with nothing.

"No, this has never happened before."

"Never happened at _your_ home?" He clarifies.

"Correct." Stef answers, hating that Callie had a long list of other homes. Other homes that put her in danger.

"Her body reacted to a severe nightmare; however, she seemed to have controlled her movements in a way."

Stef interrupts, "I'm sorry, but my daughter said that she was uncontrollable, moving around and-"

"Well, it seems uncontrolled to those who have never seen something like this. But, based upon Callie's movements, this was a routine night for her."

"Routine?"Stef seethes.

"Yes, ma'am," the doctor says, noticing her anger. He continues, "She's awake now, you might want to ask her a few questions regarding her 'nightmare.'"

"Why is that?"

"It seems like something a cop should know," he replied.

 _Something a cop should know_ , Stef thinks.

The doctor leaves, Stef looks to Mariana and puts up a hold-on-one-minute finger.

=======/===/==============

"It's happened before, almost regularly. It's the same thing, over and over again. But, I've learned to deal with it, so…" Callie's voice veers off.

"Sweetie, I don't think you have yet. While this may be routine," she thinks of the doctor, "it shouldn't be. The doctor said there are better ways to combat this. To stop it, really." Stef says.

"Really?" Callie says, astonished.

"Can you tell me what happened in the dream?" She asks.

Callie just stares at her blankly. The situation flashes before her and she jumps. Stef comes closer to her and comforts Callie.

"You can tell me, it's safe, you're safe."

Callie remains silent. Tears are starting to form in her eyes as she shakes her head.

"No. No, I can't tell you. One's too many." She begins to cry, silently.

Stef hugs Callie, "You can tell me anything. There's nothing to worry about and-"

"He made me promise. I can't, Stef," her voice breaks.

"Who made you promise, Callie?"

"Liam."

Stef's empty hand curls into a fist. She takes a deep breath and looks into Callie's eyes.

"Did he say you'd be in trouble if you told?" She asks.

"He'd be in trouble if I told…" Callie says, trying to control the conversation. "But, so would I, so, we never told anyone."

"Told anyone what? Callie, I need to know." Stef strongly says.

"He said he'd kill Jude," she wails. Callie's head shakes side to side, "I can't risk it." Her shoulders begin to shake and Stef holds onto the girl.

"He's never going kill Jude, he's never going to hurt you two again. I won't let him touch you."

"He already did."

Everything stops. Stef looks into the broken girl's eyes, trying to understand what she really meant.

"Is that what happened? What you were saying last night?" Mariana chimes in.

Callie looks up to her and another tear streams down her face.

"Did 'maybe tomorrow' ever work, Callie," Mariana barely musters out from her own tears.

Callie shakes her head, unable to speak.

"Was it Liam?"

Callie nods.

"Did he…?"

She nods again.

Stef looks to each girl with sadness.

"Callie, honey, this is going to be tough. I need you to tell me what Mariana means, okay?"

"It's okay, Callie. We all support you." Mariana says, walking up to her to sit beside Callie. She holds onto Callie's already shaking hand.

"You can tell Stef."

There's a beat and then Callie's eyes shift to Stef's.

"He… Uh-Liam forced me...to… He forced me." She couldn't get it out.

"Are you saying Liam raped you?" Stef asks, tears brimming her own eyes.

"He raped me." Callie sobs. Both Stef and Mariana hold onto Callie as she cries into their shoulders.

=======/===/==============

 **I know, pretty heavy. Hope you guys liked it! R &R!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I can't believe I'm on Chapter 7! I hope you like it!**

=======/===/==============

Brandon runs his fingers through his hair, pacing in Callie's hospital room.

"I wanted you to hear it from me," Callie somberly says.

He shakes his head not wanting to process this.

"You could've told me, Callie!" He says, frustrated, trying not to raise his voice. "You could've told me." He sounds reserved, nervous of his intonation.

"No, I couldn't," she says quietly. "Jude. He means more to me than-"

"What? Safety?"

"Secrets." Callie promptly answers.

There's a moment of silence, Brandon knows she's right. _She wouldn't risk Jude over the truth,_ he thinks.

"I'm sorry. And I'm sorry that's not the first thing I said." He musters out, quiet and frustrated at himself.

Callie shrugs, "It's fine, really."

Brandon nervously asks, "So, what now?"

"What does that mean? Just live life normally...I'm not some broken toy. I can still make fun of you!" She laughs, but he doesn't.

"Will he just get away with it?"

Callie doesn't respond-doesn't know how to respond.

"There's no way I'll let him walk free!"

"It was a long time ago, Brandon," Callie retaliates, but keeps her voice steady. "No judge will hear my case…" A thought enters her mind and her voice becomes hard. "Don't you think it's enough with what happened at the fair? Is that not enough for you?"

Brandon notices how she gets louder, meaner even. He looks disappointed.

"You know that's not what I meant-"

"But that's how it is. Brandon, look." She says very matter of fact. "Kids like me in situations like these get...overlooked. And to tack this onto what happened a week ago, it's unnecessary because then they will look in my file and I won't get justice."

"What does your file have to do with this? Liam attacked you." He asks, unable to understand her problem.

"That's not what he said! That's not what any of them _say_. My file contains me attacking a foster father, he _said_ I went crazy. But, he you know what really happened. Or that I stole, lied, verbally abused people-it's, it's all false. I stole to survive, I lied to live and I yelled to protect him."

She looks out near the door to Jude sitting in a chair. She looks to Brandon.

"Justice, as you and Stef call it, doesn't exist for us. As long as he is sitting there, my world turns because he's all I have."

Brandon pities her, he doesn't want to, but he can't help and think how easy of a life he has had.

"You need to know we're here now."

"And I do," she quickly responds.

The room gets quiet, the machines constant beeps seem to get louder.

"You guys are a good pair." Brandon says out of the blue.

Callie starts to laugh lightly and smiles, "Yeah, we are."

=======/===/==============

Lena paces at the police station in a room with Stef who sits.

"What the hell are we going to do? What the _hell_ -"

"Lena," Stef says with an even voice.

"Please sit down, hun," she continues.

After one last turn, Lena violently pulls out a chair and sits. Stef looks to her, trying not to be startled by her wife's anger.

"God!" Lena shouts, infuriated.

"Lena!" Stef harshly yells back. "Calm down! We need to actually discuss what's going to happen."

"Fine!" She complains back, still as loud as Stef.

"Calmly, we need to discuss this calmly." Stef bargains.

There's a beat, all heightened emotions begin to fade away.

"Okay," Lena exasperates. "I'm sorry. But Callie-"

"I know. I know. She was so brave, Lena. You should have seen her."

"I'm still watching her," Lena smiles. "Our girl is always brave..."

There is silence again, as the reason why they are in the police station creeps back in.

"What are we going to do?" Lena asks.

Stef looks worried, not wanting to reveal her answer.

"We'll do what Callie wants." She begins to explain. "Callie's really worried about Jude. Liam threatened her. He told Callie he'd kill Jude if she told anyone. That's why she stayed quiet for so long."

"Do you think, if this hadn't happened, we'd ever...know?" Lena asks, already knowing the answer.

"No, I doubt it, Lena." Stef replies, sadly hopeless. "He's her family-from the start."

"I think I'd do the same thing," Lena confesses, shuddering from her imagination.

Lena looks at Stef's uniform "What can the police do?"

Stef's face falls.

"There's no evidence. It was years ago. Everything's against her."

"But he'll go to jail?"

"For a while, yes," Stef responds. "He did attack her, on two occasions with witnesses, and the severe damage will aid in the hearing. But he won't go in for rape. He'll go to jail for physical abuse, stabbing and attacking two others."

Stef is blunt, but Lena is thankful for her clarity. She thinks about Brandon and Wyatt who fought against Liam, allowing extra time for the police to come.

"There's no way that he'll be walking around, right?"

"No," Stef quickly says. "Callie has a good case, Brandon and Wyatt will testify, even if Liam pleads not guilty-"

Lena scoffs, Stef's eyes shift to her.

"Even if, Lena, the evidence from the fair is enough. We can try for the rape charge, but it isn't likely…"

"Unbelievable," Lena says.

"I know," Stef embraces her.

"What else does she have to go through?" Lena leans into Stef.

Stef shakes her head, incapable of being in Callie's shoes.

"This has to be it, I swear, I don't know how much more _I_ can get through, let alone Callie," Lena persists.

=======/===/==============

Jesus sits with Callie for their first moment together since he saw her the hours after the attack. His feet lay upon her bed and Callie wrinkles her nose.

"Dude, you're feet...how can they smell _that_ bad?" She says, coughing.

He wiggles them in front of her face as she pushes them away, laughing. He gets up and puts his arm around her.

"Then you've got to smell my shirt. I don't think I've changed it in a while." He jokes, laying on her.

Callie half chokes the smell, half laughs from the prank. She starts to push him away as he amusingly, fights back.

"Oh, come on, you're stronger than that!" Jesus teases, with his big, burly laugh.

"Do I smell, or something?" Jesus continues as Callie playful pulls at his shirt.

"You don't like it? Ah, you like it, Callie."

Callie fiercely grabs hold of his shirt. The weight from his body constrains her. Suddenly, she flashes back to all those years ago. Her fists hit against his chest, she begins to scream. Jesus tries to recoil away from Callie, but her clenched hand strikes his nose before he gets the chance.

"Woah!" Jesus's hand covers his nose so quickly it was a reflex. Blood seeps from the gaps in his hand as Callie is curled up on the bed.

He gets up and grabs a messy handful of tissues. He leaves to get a nurse as Callie just sits there, startled by her actions.

=======/===/==============

"I'm so sorry. I talked to my doctor and he said it was another attack. I swear I didn't mean it." Callie croaks out from her tears.

Jesus holds Callie's hand, looking at her with sorrow.

"I know it wasn't your fault. It's really okay, it'll heal." He says, his nose taped with butterfly bandages. The space under his eyes begins to bruise as a reaction from his broken nose.

"You've got some swing on you, though," he grins.

She looks at him seriously, but breaks into a smile.

"Hm...maybe you deserved it." She laughs, at least tries to, but something holds her back.

She knows he didn't deserve it, jokes aside, but there was nothing she could do to stop herself. She looks down, unable to keep their connection. Callie exhales, bothered by her stupid traumatic stress outbursts.

"Look at me, Callie," Jesus says, completely serious. "This is nothing compared to you, okay? I'll take this any day if you got better each time. I'll heal, just like you. So, let's make a competition. If you feel better first, I owe you ice cream, but if I win, you owe me. Deal?"

"Deal." She says, smiling.

"Can I ask you something?" Jesus says very quietly.

Callie nods.

"What did you see...you know, when you like, freaked out? I don't really know what to call it…"

"An episode, I guess. At least that's what they tell me. I don't really see anything, that's the problem. Everything goes..dark," she tries to think, her eyes search for answers in the room.

"I didn't see your face, I didn't even see Liam's face, which I usually do... I felt panicky and knew I had to defend myself, it felt automatic, I couldn't stop it. This was different though, better-I mean, except for your face. This was the first time I didn't see Liam and that's because I've been working on it with that doctor. So, I didn't see as much as I have and I think that really freaked me out."

"But that's better right?"

Callie begins to smile, "Yeah. It is."

"Wow. I guess I owe you ice cream already. Ugh, I knew it," he grips Callie's hand. "You're already getting better. I just had to give you a reason."

"And who knew it would be ice cream?" Callie smirks.

"Oh, it's always ice cream." He laughs.

They remain holding hands, releasing their worries and smiling like they haven't in a long time.

=======/===/==============

Mariana sits with Jude in the cafeteria. He sips on chocolate milk as she looks at the others sitting near them.

"She seems to really be getting better."

He nods.

"I'm sure she'll be home soon."

He nods.

"Then we'll be back in the same room, it's really weird without her there…" Mariana tries to sustain the conversation.

"What's going on with you?" She looks to him.

Jude continues to stare at his carton of milk.

"What will the people at school think? They've always stared when she has bruises."

"Is that what you're worried about, Jude? Do you think Callie really cares what they say? I'm sure it won't be that big of a deal."

He nods. He opens his mouth, about to say something, but closes it.

"It's just-no one is nice in school, not after this. Never after this."

Mariana sinks in her seat, she can't comprehend how this has happened more than once to her sister.

"You know what's different this time, Jude?" She asks.

He looks up to her.

"She has me. And if anyone gives her a bad look, I will stand up for Callie. Jesus will fight just about anyone if you give him a reason. Brandon will always be by her side, just like you. And Lena… well, she's the vice principal, so she can probably expel them. Stef is the backup. That's six people, including us, who have her back. That's what's different this time." She says strongly.

Jude puts his head on Mariana's shoulder.

"I like that." He says, cuddling in closer to her.

"Are you worried about anything else? Because you can always ask me. No matter what."

"What happens now with Liam?" Jude asks, curling up, trying to shield himself from the answer.

"I'm not really sure, buddy. Stef said something about a trial soon. That's when we'll know how long he'll be in jail." She replies

"But he's going for sure? And we won't have to worry about him?"

"Pretty sure. You'll never have to worry about him." Mariana promises.

"I wish I could protect her, you know?" He says insecurely.

"There's nothing to protect her from anymore. He'll be locked away and Stef will keep her safe."

"I wish she did before, too." He says, not realizing the raw truth.

Mariana cringes, wishing the same.

"Me, too. But don't dwell on that. All of us will keep her safe now."

=======/===/==============

 **I'm honestly thinking there's one chapter left. Do you guys want to see more than that? R &R!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in forever. But I finally got inspiration so I'm back with a schedule of updates! Every Sunday expect a new chapter! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays! To recap the story, because it's been a while, Callie had an altercation with Liam and is in the hospital. The repercussions from that event not only affect Callie herself, but all the Fosters.**

 **Thanks again for sticking with me. I really hope you like it, give me some feedback! You guys motivate me. In the holiday spirit, I want to say hello to everyone from all the countries that read this! Hello, Ciao, Bonjour, Hallo, Hallå, Hola, Dia dhuit, Sveiki, Olá, Hej,** **வணக்கம், こんにちは, C** **ześć,** **Здравствуйте, नमस्ते, Ahoj,** **Χαίρετε,** **สวัสดี, Zdravo, ہیلو! And if I didn't get you, let me know! Enjoy :)**

=======/===/==============

Jesus lingers in the hallway, everyone seems to be busy. He knocks on Brandon's bedroom door, who has his headphones on and is violently playing piano. Jesus can almost hear the notes from across the room. He waits knocking louder, but it's no use. Jesus just comes into the room and sits.

Brandon's fingers move fast, seamlessly across the keys. His shoulders follow his hands and suddenly, he presses the wrong key. He slams on the piano and shoves his sheet music across the room.

"Woah. You okay?" Jesus asks, worried.

Brandon jumps startled by Jesus' presence and twists to see him sitting there.

"Didn't see you there." He mutters, embarrassed.

Jesus replies, "Yeah, didn't mean to scare you. I knocked."

"I was playing."

"Looked more like you were beating up your keyboard."

A quiet moment passes, they think of Callie. Brandon sighs.

"Inspiration, I guess…" he looks back to his sheet music in plies on the floor. "It didn't help, though. This makes me feel… useless."

Jesus scoffs.

"I can't do anything except write stupid notes on pointless lines" Brandon exasperates.

"Brandon, come on, that's you're thing. Whenever you're moody you write stupid notes on pointless lines, but it always sounds like music to me. Give yourself a break." He replies.

Brandon nods.

"It's up to her now," Jesus continues. "You did what you can. You did what you needed to do. She has time; you have to give yourself some, too." Jesus says.

"Wish it felt like it," Brandon crouches down, unplugging the piano.

"It won't feel like it to you, but it will to Callie. She's fine now! She just has to heal, and it's easier for her because you came when you did." He argues.

Brandon doesn't look at Jesus, "How are moms?"

The question seems to surprise Jesus, catching him off guard. "Uh, they're coping. It seems like they're fine, but we're all a mess, so they are a bit preoccupied."

"Do you think Jude will be okay?" Brandon questions, running his hands over the keys of his piano.

"Jude's funny, I mean, he has this terrible past, he told me a bit of it, but he's worried about how _we_ think of this whole situation. This is normal for him. As long as Callie keeps getting better, so will he. Jude's doing better than me, I can tell you that."

Brandon's facial expression changes to confusion, "What? Why?"

"The festival. I was there, too, Brandon. How did I not catch him? At least how was I not observant enough to notice he was there? Instead, I was being a kid, not a protector."

"You're his buddy. Jude needs you, too. In a different way than he needs Callie. He needs a dude."

"A dude?"

"A guy… he's never had one. He had Callie. Well, she's not you... Yeah, not as annoying."

Jesus smacks his shoulder, they laugh. Brandon looks back at Jesus.

"And Liam... everyone missed it. Callie knows it, Wyatt knows it, I know it, and now you. We've all shared the blame of missing it, okay? Forgive yourself. She does. And if she does, you need to."

Brandon walks towards him and pulls him in for a quick back-patting hug.

"I wish I was you," Jesus reveals.

"Really. You're kidding."

"Hey, you got to punch him. I probably would've done more damage, though," he jests.

"Oh, yeah? He's strong, and I have the bruises to show you…"

They both think, _so does Callie._ It immediately becomes quiet.

"I just wish hers weren't as bad," Jesus breaks the haunting silence.

"Yeah, me too. Me too." Brandon whispers.

=======/===/==============

After Callie's nightmare from two nights ago, Mariana is by Callie's side day in and day out. She is doing her homework in an uncomfortable position while a doctor tends to Callie.

"Can you rate your pain from your side, please."

"4."

"That's your lowest measurement, Callie." The doctor replies, smiling.

"That's just my side, if you add them up the number gets pretty high." She counters.

"Your four and my four are probably very different. You can endure more than me, that's for sure," he compliments.

"Practice makes perfect."

"Yes, let's hope you stop that, see you later, Callie." He leaves.

Mariana's eyes follows the doctor, she was easily yet unnoticeably, eavesdropping the back and forth conversation. Callie looks to at Mariana, and sees her stacked books.

"How's school? Lots of work?" Callie changes the subject.

"Papers, tests and other things I haven't done. The usual." She quickly replies.

"I don't think a hospital room is the best place for that, you know. A table might help."

"No, it's fine. This works!" Mariana responds, not recognizing Callie's suggestion.

"You don't need to stay, I'll be okay by myself," she says, too bluntly.

"Oh, do you want me to leave? I'm sorry-"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. But, come on, you're all squeezed in that uncomfortable chair, balancing your work from plenty of classes that you've missed." Callie explains.

'I'm fine. I'll be fine, this stuff is easy…"

They both know she's lying.

"And you're doing alright in school? Having missed, oh, how many days?"

"Doing okay, _Mom_ ," Mariana answers.

She looks over to the menacing and intimidating stack of work, but tries not to show her worry.

"Mariana, what's bothering you because you've got a terrible poker face." Callie smiles, slightly.

Mariana rolls her eyes, sighs and takes a moment before responding.

"It's-"

"It's not homework." Callie responds, quick-witted.

"No…It's Liam."

Callie takes in a breath. "What's up, Mari?"

Mariana blushes, not wanting to approach the subject.

"It's just. How are you doing? Not the doctor's answer, no snappy sarcasm. Please." She pleads.

Callie looks out her window, trying to pick a piece out of all her questions and answers.

"Yeah, it's complicated." She scratches her head. "There's part of me that's somehow relieved of what happened. Of what he did. I was really just waiting for it, you know?"

Mariana doesn't answer. Mariana doesn't know.

"So, I think it's almost a relief. And, I guess, I'm thankful? That it's over? That I got through it finally. But then, I look at you and I look at moms. Jude gets it, but my family doesn't? And that's hard. He's too young to tell you guys how it was-to describe it, but everything I know is something you guys don't want to hear-"

"No-"

"Yes. Or...maybe it's something I don't want you to hear."

She pauses.

"Yet there's this other part that wishes it never happened. Never happened with you. If I was just with Jude it'd be fine, but now I have more people. People I worry and people that care about me. I never had that before, so it's a different kind of tough. Because yeah, this sucked, but it's almost worse now that I have you. Not because I have you, but because you, Jesus, Moms, ugh Brandon, all of you have me. And my burdens. This had less collateral damage before."

"You were alone before. No one to disappoint, no one to scare. _You_ were moms, me, Jesus and Brandon to Jude. It must be weird reversed now, right?"

Callie's mind searches for an answer.

"Callie, there's more people now; and yes, that means more people will be sad when you're hurt. But you have so much more love. So much more. Callie, no one understood it before, even from the beginning. At your foster home when Stef saved the day, when I was way too snooty, and we couldn't understand your life. To put it that way."

She smiles.

"Maybe moms knew your past-knew your file, but not until now after Liam do we _know_ you. I'm not thankful for what happened, and you shouldn't be either. What you should be thankful is what came out of it. Rather than just Jude by your side this time, you got us. And we get it this time. It took too long, I know that. Oh, you can't imagine how many times I think of that party months ago when I was wasted. When he came back. Or how many times I overlooked your flinches, or how many times I let you close up."

Mariana looks down, ashamed. Callie opens her mouth, and then closes it, struggling to find the right words to say.

Callie starts, "I never wanted to tell you any of it. I just wanted to foolishly keep it in my past. That's on me. Not you. And apparently, those flinches are side effects, but now I'm getting treated. You won't see them anymore. I won't put up a wall-I can't now. I could with Jude, but it never worked, it never helped. I can't now because I have all of you, a complete family. I've been responsible for Jude as long as I remember; I've felt like I needed to protect you from me and from my past. It was never a lack of your help. Or the Foster's, for that matter. I was trying to protect you from… the inevitable. Because you, or moms, or the boys never deserved having to look over your shoulder-"

"You don't deserve it either, Callie," She interjects.

"But I'm use to it." Callie answers, without a pause or moment of hesitation.

"You shouldn't have to be, not anymore."

Callie smiles, "No, not anymore. You're right. I'm thankful for what came from it. You learned more about me, and I learned more about myself."

"And you'll need to learn more when you get back to classes too, just giving you a heads up." Mariana jokes.

"Yeah, you're a big help." Callie laughs.

"That's what I'm here for!" She exclaims, giggling.

"I'm so glad you are here," Callie responds, with a more serious tone.

"Thank you for opening up to me, Callie." Mariana says kindly.

Mariana places her work on the floor and walks to Callie's bed. She hops on and squeezes right next to Callie who quickly turns away from her, grabbing her glass of water. Trying to shield her pained face from her sister.

The movement from the bed aggravated the pain, but Callie didn't want Mariana to know she caused it. She lowly growls into the cup, wincing. She turns back around, smiling, grinding her teeth.

"So…" Callie's voice is suddenly raspy.

"You okay? Is something wrong?" Mariana questions, seeing a sudden change in behavior.

Callie shakes her head no, her poker face much better than Mariana's. There's a pause, neither of them know how to move onto regular conversation, until:

"Any cute boys walk by?" Mariana smiles and Callie rolls her eyes.

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 **That's the chapter! This is my gift to you-I'm back. Stay tuned for more, but you gotta do something for me... Let me know what you think of it! R &R I'll try and post earlier if I can get some love 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy, Happy New Year! 2017! I'm celebrating with a new chapter :) Hope you guys like it!**

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The evening passed without a nightmare, to Callie's relief. She was missing Jude and fed up with the hospital room. It's terrible fluorescent light with a green tint, the lack of fluffy pillows and most of all, not being able to walk around.

Although, as she thinks about it, Callie's not sure if she'd even be able to walk around on her own after being so immobile.

Luckily Callie had her phone to entertain herself in the boredom of loneliness. She finds herself drawn to the Instagram page of her pictures. Scrolling through the memories, hinting a smile each time a good picture resurfaced.

Her curiosity took the wheel and she was looking at Liam's account. Sadness was not the emotion she was feeling as she looked at his posts. Anger wasn't the right word either. Almost a sense of tiredness. Yet a relief.

She allowed her eyes to well up a bit, knowing their past between them. But then, the corner of her mouth rose into a small, reserved smile. She let out a breath and felt calm. For the first time in ages.

A turning point. She never let that tear fall, though. _He doesn't deserve it,_ she thinks. A new sense of ownership overwhelmed her, in a good, but strong way. She puts down the phone next to her, releasing the associated anxieties.

Startled, her phone buzzes: Wyatt.

She flashes back to the first time Wyatt had a physical altercation with Liam. She looks down at her wrist, feeling the phantom pain of Liam's tight, unforgiving grip. The pain in her neck is suddenly unavoidable.

Her hand reflexively tends to the pain, and instead of feeling better, she feels the shoe. Seeing the fuzzy image of a long-haired boy at a crooked angle.

Her heart rate increases, not so much so as the machines alert, but just enough to struggle with breathing.

The neck. No longer is Liam's boot her focus, but the strangling sensation she knows all too well. He wasn't the first.

 _Is he the last?_ She thinks, her eyes darting left to right, her chest violently rising and falling.

Now she's done it. The alarms blare, her legs involuntarily shake and her hands turn into fists trying to resist the episode. Her breathing is caught, her throat dry, her eyes wet.

Her world, dark.

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"Jacobs. Callie Jacobs." The blonde doctor whispers.

Her eyes flutter, adjusting to the light.

"Want to tell me why you're here?"

She looks around, trying to take in her environment.

"Want to tell me why I'm here?"

It clicks. The panic attack. She rolls her eyes.

He grunts, waiting for a response.

"You were getting better, Callie. But this time, you were alone, no stimuli. What was the trigger?"

Trigger. She thinks back to her foster father, and the house that Stef barged into. His finger fiddling on the trigger, pointing it directly at her.

Callie delays in responding, allowing the memory and its emotions to pass over. The barrel of the gun fades away, instead she sees the doctor, waiting.

"Um…" She doesn't know what to say. _What was the trigger?_

 _Liam?_

 _Wyatt._

"One of the boys who saved me, I was on my phone and a notification popped up."

The doctor remains still, wanting to hear the whole story.

"I thought back to his interactions with Liam."

"Why? Why were you thinking about Liam?"

She looks down, not wanting to admit her curiosity.

"He was on my mind. I'm in here because of him. Everything reminds me of him in here."

"That's not true," the doctor cuts Callie off, sternly.

"Well, maybe not all true… But that is why I'm here…" She tries to bargain.

He's not buying it. "But that's not your reason, is it, Callie?"

"Not exactly. I saw a picture of him. I sort of looked him up. But he didn't set me off, I want you to know that. I _am_ getting better."

The doctor opens his mouth, starting to speak, but Callie's voice rises.

"I was _fine._ It was the first moment that I didn't freak when I saw him. It was empowering. But when I got Wyatt's text-"

"What did it say?"

"What?"

"You must have read the text, Callie. What was he talking to you about?"

"I didn't read it. I was too far gone by that point. I already flashed back to a… Situation."

"You don't need to tell me." He says, seeing her struggle to find the right words.

"You need to understand, Wyatt got in a fight with Liam once before. Before now. So I was thinking about how it started," she looks back down at her wrist. The doctor's eyes follow hers, too.

"That's how it started." She ends.

"Are you experiencing pain from your wrist?"

"Just the normal amount." She responds flatly.

"We believe your wrist hasn't actually healed from past injuries." He says.

"I know. You told me, guess I have to let it run its course…" Her voice fades away.

There's a moment of silence, the doctor not knowing how to respond. _She's a special case_ , he thinks.

"Why? Why did you let it? It seems to me, you know now what happened, and I assume as you were anxious… You worked on the exercises. I know that because I'm watching you do them right now."

Callie's breath hitches. _Was I really controlling it?_ She thinks.

"It didn't feel like it," she shakes her head, confused.

"It's not supposed to, it's supposed to feel natural. Like riding a bike."

"I never learned." The thought dawns on her. This innocent rite of passage seemed to have dismissed the Jacob family.

There's a knock on the door and both the doctor and Callie look up but don't see anyone. Immediately, her eyes fall and see Jude, smiling.

"Hey, Callie, you busy?"

The doctor and Callie exchange glances.

"Well-" the doctor begins.

"Nope, come on in, Jude." Callie finishes.

"I'll leave you to it," the doctor says, leaving.

"When can you come home?"

She looks to the doctor, hesitates, then asks, "When do you think that'll be, doc?"

He turns back to the kids, thinks, then, "I'd say a few more days, _only_ if you can keep your sister still at home. Can you do that for me?"

Jude nods, assuming the responsibility. Callie gives a crooked smile to the doctor.

Jude looks to Callie with a huge grin, "This is great news!"

"It sure is," she answers, messing up his hair, he hops on the bed.

 _No pain_ , she thinks.

"Okay, Callie, there's something I want to talk to you about." He says, very seriously.

Her smile immediately leaves her face. Full concentration.

"You know you can tell me anything."

"Yes, you've told me," he replies, "but I just wanted to warn you."

 _Where is this going,_ Callie thinks.

"I'm not sure how the kids at school are going to act, there's been some talking, but you don't just have me. Mariana said that you have all of us when you come back. So if anyone gives you trouble-"

"Is that what you're worried about? Jude, I can handle myself. Whatever they say it means nothing. Don't let it get to you. Okay? And if anyone bothers me, I have you."

He smiles. "I hear Jesus has a good swing."

Callie bursts out laughing, "Where did you hear that?!"

He waits, "Jesus."

"Well, don't keep repeating it because it isn't true…" she smiles and he giggles.

"But on a more serious note, Jude, has anyone said anything to you?"

He is clearly thinking, something comes over his face, but dismisses the emotion.

"Some people are worried about you."

"And…" Callie waits, trying to pull the information out of Jude-who is clearly uncomfortable.

"Some are spreading rumors, and I keep telling people they aren't true. But once they see you, they'll shut up."

"Jude."

"Sorry."

"All that time with Jesus-he's given you an attitude! Cut it out! Baby, listen to me, not to the other kids. They might have big mouths, but you…

She points a finger to his chest, "You have a big heart. But you don't need to protect me, okay? That's what I'm here for."

A pause.

"That's what the Fosters are here for."

"Callie. This is the first time you're relying on them."

"It is, Jude. We should…" it takes her an extended moment to finish, "get used to them."

Jude hugs Callie, she winces only slightly as his grip is tight, but comforting.

"Who did you come with today?" She asks, readjusting her pillow.

"Me." Lena comes through the door with watery eyes, clearly having eavesdropped their conversation. She sniffs, "Jude, is there something you want from the vending machine?"

She gives him a couple of dollars and he rushes out, almost galloping.

"Hey." Lena musters out.

"Hey." Callie smiles. "Not one for privacy, huh?" She laughs.

"Of course not," she goes to hug Callie. "Thank you. For trusting us."

Callie tightens her hold to Lena. A tear falling down her face, she quickly wipes it away, happy.

"Do you want anything from the vending machine?" She laughs.

"Oh no, I'm not allowed-"

"Reese's?"

Callie nods.

"Okay. Now before I go, I actually came as the vice president."

"Well, hello Mrs. Foster."

"You've missed quite a few days-"

"But I have a good excuse."

They both pause. _A good excuse_.

"You're not in trouble, Callie. That's from me and the VP."

"Okay, but I'm getting confused between the switches."

"You're getting a lot better; I brought some homework that's been piling up. Mariana actually offered to do yours-"

"What?!"

"I know. She barely does her own."

"What did you say?" Callie asks, curious.

"No! Callie!" They both giggle.

"Just checking…" Callie wishing the answer was yes.

"I was thinking you could start catching up. It will be a while until you're actually in school.

"Well, the doctor just told me only a few more days. I won't be able to go to school yet-bed rest. But that's improvement? Right?"

Callie looks to her for reassurance, the moment intensifying.

"You've come so far, my dear. I don't mean just from the past two weeks. The first time I met you, well it may not have been on the greatest of circumstances. But I'm so proud of you, and all the walls you've taken down. And Jude, you raised that boy."

They both look out in the hallway to Jude deciding which candy he should eat.

"He's opened up a lot, too. After that _house._ "

Callie thinks back to that horror of a house. Him. Jim Pearson. The name ingrained in her memory. Lena keeps talking, but Callie is distracted by moments flashing by. The shattered windshield of his TransAm, the broken baseball bat, the bruise on Jude and the gun-in Brandon's face.

Lena sees that Callie has zoned out, "Babe? Cal, are you alright?"

Callie snaps to reality suddenly, making eye contact with Lena, hurt in her eyes.

Lena whispers, "You're safe now." She walks towards her and holds her head, stroking Callie's long brown hair. Having missed the feeling, Lena closes her eyes trying to keep this moment for as long as she can.

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 **That wraps up Chapter 9, but don't forget to check in next week for Chapter 10! I really loved all your comments and reviews, you guys make me smile. How did you like this chapter? Let me know! R &R! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Tenth chapter! Enjoy!**

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Callie slowly pulls away, but keeps her grasp on Lena's hand, she offers a small smile, but it soon fades.

"How are you feeling? How's the pain?" Lena asks, looking Callie up and down. Her color has returned, but those eyes have seen too much. _It ages her_ , she thinks.

"It's not as bad, it really hasn't been." She lets out a sigh. "I'm just sick being stuck in this room."

Callie looks around and sees Jude coming down the hall to her. Lena looks around and her eyes lock onto something. She leaves as he returns to the room.

"I couldn't decide, so I'll let you: Reese's or Crunch? I love both, and I'll eat whatever you don't. Unless you don't want either then-"

"Oh, don't you think I'm turning down chocolate? Who do you think I am! I'll take the Reese's, I know how much you like Crunch!"

He smiles and they both open their candies, smiling with their mouths full.

Lena calls out to Jude, "Hey, can you help me with something?"

Jude looks around, following her voice, he goes just outside the door, out of Callie's view. She hears whispers and giggles. A few moments later, Lena comes in, but rolling Jude in a wheelchair, his bright smile illuminating the room.

"We're going on an adventure! I'm driving!" He can barely contain his excitement.

"He's not driving-you're not driving, Jude." Lena rolls her eyes. "But we thought, we might take you out for a spin-"

"Yeah, hope you're not dizzy!" Jude interjects.

"No, Jude. Not that kind of spin."

Callie smiles, "Just let him be."

Lena wants to say something more, but Callie just shakes her head, knowing her Jude.

"I guess we could. I mean if you really want to, Jude." Then, to Lena, "Is it...safe?"

There's a small moment between the two women, Callie worried if it's worth taking the chance with her healing cut. Lena nods in approval.

Callie is already propped up, so she uses her arm strength to sit herself up. Slowly sliding her legs to the edge of the bed, until they slightly swing in the freedom. She rotates her ankles around, stretching. Jude positions the wheel chair so it's directly next to the side of the bed. Callie puts her arm around Lena's shoulder that's bearing most of Callie's weight as she places her into the wheelchair.

Once situated, Callie places her hand over the wound, almost checking to see if it's hurting-it's not. She lets out a breath of relief, and moves her arms over the wheels, until…

Jude grabs hold of the back and starts steering her towards the door.

"Woah, there buddy! Take it slow!" Lena exclaims.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Jude stutters out, trying to slow his manic driving.

"How about I'll steer and you direct us where to go?" Lena asks, trying to compromise. Callie looks up to her, smiling.

"Yeah, my arms are still a little weak and I don't know if I can point which way I'd want to go. So, I'll just have to trust you, Jude!"

Without a hesitation, he points, beginning their journey.

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"I needed this, thank you." She says to Lena who is now joined by Stef. "But I do have one concern. How do I get back up?"

"With our help of course, hun." Stef says, reaching her arm out for Callie to hold on to. Lena grabs her legs and they both lift Callie slowly and gently to her bed and tuck her in.

"Oh, you should have seen Jude, Stef," Lena smiles, looking to Callie. The both of them thinking about the little boy's enthusiasm.

"And I heard that you'll be coming home soon! We'll plan a big party!" Stef says.

Callie shoots a look at her.

"A very sizable, family party…" she whispers, Callie smiles.

"You're right, though. Only a little bit longer. What's the rest of your day look like? Mine is-has been the same…" Callie's voice fades.

"Well, I'll be taking Jude back home and he'll probably hang out with Jesus." Lena explains.

Callie scoffs, "Jesus can make Jude repeat anything."

"Let's see if there's anything I can do…" Lena teases, smiling. Callie nods.

"Mariana wanted to go shopping, so we're going out to the mall."

Lena starts, "Mariana always wants to go shopping-"

"But it has been a while," Stef cuts in. "And-"

"What, like three days?" Callie jokes.

Lena and Stef look at each other. Callie looks back and forth to both of them.

"Guys. That's not really true, is it?" Callie tries to say.

"Well, now that I think about it, she did some online shopping? But we'll just be looking through the windows" Stef says to Callie, unconvincingly.

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Mariana is texting in the passenger seat of the car as Stef is driving. She's smiling, enjoying herself as she looks at the newest fashion styles on Pinterest.

The music plays softly as the two don't talk, not as if they are in a fight, but they are both distracted. Stef with the road and Mariana with shoes.

"Miss Thing, we can't stay out too long, alright? This will not be a three-hour expedition. And this one is on your budget. Deal?"

Mariana audibly displays her disgust, but says, "Fine. I was thinking of getting something for Callie."

"Oh, that's very thoughtful, what were you thinking?"

"Heels."

"Heels? And this is for Callie. You're buying for Callie?" Stef questions, confused.

"Well, she'll probably never wear them and we're the same size so-"

"Uh uh. Nope. Get something she would want. No matter what the color." They both smile.

Stef's phone rings and it's connected to the car, so the caller ID can be read on the display monitor. It reads: Mike Foster. Stef answers the call and Mariana resorts to her own phone.

"Hey, Mike," Stef yells into the microphone on the ceiling of the car.

"Stef. Get to the interrogation room. We have Liam."

She quickly hits a button on the car that moves her phone call back to her phone. Mariana's head whips up with full concentration to the conversation. She looks over to Stef who returns a glare back, shaking her head no.

Stef's eyes revert back to the road as she listens to Mike.

"They're not going to let me in there. Talk to somebody." There's a beat. Mike's obviously talking; Mariana's eyes don't break from Stef's phone.

"But. Can't I-I'm coming." Stef hangs up the phone.

Stef turns the car around violently, Mariana holds onto the side of the door.

"Mom."

No answer.

Stef's tight grip on the steering wheel makes her knuckles go white.

"Mom."

"Not now, Mariana!" She yells, but not intentionally.

"I don't think this is a good idea."

Stef pushes her foot on the pedal, running a yellow.

"I'm serious. Maybe we should just go home."

"Mari, I know you're worried about me. You'll just have to trust my judgment. I don't have time to drop you off and I-I" Stef doesn't even know what else to say. Then, "You can sit in the front. It won't be long."

"Mom."

"Not another word, please," Stef pleads.

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Mariana's been at the police station for more than forty-five minutes. Without seeing either Stef or Mike. Until two officers, who Mariana doesn't recognize, escort a tall twenty-something in handcuffs. She knows exactly who it is.

She jumps out of her seat and runs up into his face.

"Get used to these handcuffs, because they are never coming off!" Mariana screams at Liam.

"Oh, is that what you think, babe?" Liam smiles, looking at Mariana's body up and down.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to back up." An officer says, beginning to put his arm between the two.

"I hope you get exactly what you deserve and rot in jail!"

Liam laughs and the officer starts to usher Mariana away. She fights against him, his grip getting tighter. Until, her hand connects with his chest, pushing him away. As she frees herself, she launches herself at Liam, fists high and lands a hard punch across his face.

"Ma'am! You've just assaulted a delinquent. I'm going to have to cite you for that." The officer explains, pulling her away from a fiery Mariana, whose knuckle is bleeding.

"Lucky you don't have to cite me for more!" She growls.

Liam keeps his eyes locked on Mariana and spits out a little blood, she grins in reaction. They move him away from Mariana, who herself is led to a desk.

"Now, ma'am, can you please tell me your name."

"Mariana Foster."

He looks up. _Oh boy_ , he thinks.

"Foster, as in-"

"Yup."

"Oh." He says, understanding the situation now.

"I can let you off on a...on a warning."

"I want to speak to him. Liam."

"No. Look how well that worked out the first time."

Mariana pleads, "I promise, I'll be fine. You can even hold me back, but he needs to hear what I have to say."

"And what would that be?" He drones on, having had that conversation before.

She hesitates.

"Listen, Mariana. As I'm in a tricky position here, I won't report you for hitting Mr. Olmstead-"

"Mister? Really?"

"We have to treat everyone in custody with respect. As I was saying, I won't report you… for that. But I will have to tell Stef."

Her mouth drops.

"Um, if you don't report it, you don't have to tell her, right?"

"I'm sorry, that's not how it works." The officer states.

"Then write me up. I'll probably have to be locked up-put me right next to that son of a-"

"You wouldn't get-no. It was only a misdemeanor and if I thought you actually injured him, I'd have to put you in overnight-"

"He was bleeding. I had a hard enough swing, sir." She argues, with respect.

He shakes his head, not wanting to hear any of this.

"Do I get a phone call? Once I'm in?" She asks, hopeful.

"No! Your mother is an officer! She'd know if you're in one of our containment facilities. So if you _don't_ want Officer Foster to know, that would not be the best way to go."

"Don't want me to know what?" Stef walks into the conversation.

Both the officer and Mariana look at Stef, then at each other.

"Hm? Is… everything alright?" She asks, trying to decode the situation at hand.

"Nothing is wrong. Everything is peachy here." Mariana covers.

"Peachy?" Stef repeats.

"Peachy. Yes." Mariana answers, hoping her Mom's cop instinct will just overlook her.

"Officer Caden, can you please tell me what I'm missing?" She looks to him for guidance, trying to laugh off the awkwardness.

"Mariana here was just asking me about the job." He looks at Mariana, nodding at her to play along.

"But she lives with a cop," Stef says, investigating. Looking back to Mariana.

"Well, I just wanted to know, um..." She runs her hand through her hair, nervously.

"Sweets." Stef interrupts and holds her hand, seeing her cut up knuckles on her right hand. Stef's eyes dart to the officer, expecting an explanation.

"There was a run in with one of our...someone being questioned."

It clicks.

"Oh my God, Mariana, are you okay? Did he do this to you?!" She worriedly yells at her daughter, who peers back to Officer Caden.

"Well, Stef, she actually hit him. That's how her hand got hurt."

Stef smiles at Mariana, pleased with her behavior. But quickly, she changes her reaction to a disapproving mother.

"You punched Liam?" She tries to say, holding back her excitement.

"Yeah…"

Stef looks at the Officer, her eyebrows go up and he shrugs his shoulders.

"Well, we should go. It's just about dinnertime now." The officer nods at Stef and they leave.

"You know that wasn't smart, sweets." Stef scolds. "He's very dangerous."

"But it felt so good." Mariana groans.

"I'm sure… I'm sure it did." Stef knowing the feeling.

"If it were anyone else, it wouldn't have happened. But because it was _him_ -"

"I know, I know Mariana. I can't let you think that this is acceptable though. And I'm pretty sure that my behavior in the car may have encouraged yours."

"No. I've wanted to do that for a long time." She states unapologetically.

There's a long pause from Stef.

"Did you do any damage?" She curiously asks Stef and Mariana smiles.

"It looked like it hurt."

"Hm. Okay. Well, let's not mention this to Mom? Or Jesus or anyone okay? Don't want to give them any bright ideas," Stef suggests.

They both exchange a small smile.

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 **This is probably my favorite scene, at the end here. What do you guys think? R &R! Much love!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yoo hoo! Read my new chapter! Let me know if you like it! Happy Sunday!**

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Jesus sits at his desk, focused. He's studying a video intently, a wrestler at a school he'll soon play against.

Mariana knocks on the doorway and winces, trying to cover a sudden sharp pain.

"Hey, Mari. You alright?"

She pauses, "It's nothing. What are you up to?"

"Well, we have a duel next week… You're coming, right?" He asks.

"Duh! We'll never miss you win." She says, smiling.

Jesus looks down and sees a fairly large bandage on Mariana's hand. He goes to hold it and she immediately pulls it away.

"What-" Jesus is cut off.

"I can't tell you. Mom told me I can't tell you." She says, the words barely get out.

 _Is she smiling?_ , Jesus thinks.

"Mom? Mom is involved with this?" Jesus can't keep his thoughts straight.

"She's not involved _with_ this, just _in_ this? I guess?" Her voice fades.

She glances at him; he keeps the eye contact a moment longer.

"I'm going to tell you a secret. It's not serious-not a big deal, okay? Seriously, you can't tell Moms."

She stares at him, undivided attention.

"Yeah, yeah! Okay! Promise, just tell me." He laughs.

"So…" she waits.

"So?" Jesus questions, getting more and more impatient.

"I was at the station. Today, at the station." Jesus nods, listening. "And so was Liam…"

His eyes widen. His imagination starts to run wild.

Reading his mind, Mariana responds, "No, I actually started it."

"Oh." He says, surprised.

"So, yeah. We were both bleeding." She can't contain her grin anymore.

He puts up his knuckles and gives her a soft fist bump to her bandaged hand.

"There ya go…" He says. "Why can everyone else punch that-"

She stops him, knowing where it's going, "You're the most lethal, dude." She laughs.

"Maybe one day, if I'm lucky."

There's a beat of silence.

Then, Jesus says, "I'm glad you're alright."

Mariana smiles back at him.

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Callie is restless in her bed, it's getting late, but visitors are still roaming the hallways. She observes the different behaviors, those mourning with sadness, others happy in relief and so on. She thinks about their lives and who they are visiting.

Then she thinks about her neighbors in the rooms next to her, but she doesn't think long as she actually doesn't know them at all-not even if they are boys or girls, men or women. She looks to the side of her table and sees books she hasn't read, homework she hasn't finished and get well soon cards she hasn't read. The overwhelming, intimidating work is exhausting her just by looking at it so she picks up her phone. But just as quickly puts it back on the table; even her phone is can't entertain her anymore…

There's a moment of serenity as she takes in her environment, everything still.

Suddenly, the lights flicker in her room. _It's nothing_ , she thinks. _This is not a horror movie_ , she reassures herself. She exhales, needing to distract herself from her imagination. She's already counted the tiles on her ceiling... 248 to be exact.

The lights went out entirely. _It's fine, they'll come back on any second_ , she thinks.

Too many seconds pass.

The generator wasn't working.

Only battery powered lights were illuminating light and there was only one: the exit sign outside her door. The sun had already set, so while it wasn't pitch black, she couldn't see too far in front of her. The hallway was easier to see as the exit sign gave her a point of reference and light.

There's an eerie absence of sound, no beeping monitors or machines, no random numbers that doctors can understand. Nothing.

Then everything.

The silence only last for a few moments until screams and shrills filled the air with patients whose lives were depending on those machines. Callie squeezes her eyes shut, hoping as she opens them again it was all a dream.

It was worse. When she opened them, people were running down the hall yelling for help, screaming. Her own heart rate rises in the anxiety of everyone's lives at stake, but her monitors won't read that. The blackout is becoming more and more dangerous.

 _I'm fine_ , she thinks again.

A man with a deep voice-compared to the mothers, aunts and daughters Callie's heard running around-approaches the exit door right outside her own. He spins in helplessness, in need of a hand, or sense of direction.

He yells, "She's in trouble! She needs assistance! Anybody?!"His eyes are wide and wild. "Please!"

He twists and turns around looking for nurses, doctors, anybody. Callie peers at him through her room and he finally faces her.

Pearson.

The foster father that falsely reported Callie to the police as a violent, unstable delinquent.

He recognizes her, too.

"It's you." He growls.

"It's you." Callie says, shocked.

Callie jerks back, afraid he that he'll come in, but a college boy knocks into Pearson, whisking him out of Callie's sight.

Callie looks around, panicked. Thinking if he'll come back, she looks around the room, looking for anything that can change the room number or her name.

No luck.

She whips her head around to her phone and boggles it in her hand. She is fumbling with the numbers as she tries to dial Stef and Lena.

She's breaking down, not knowing when he'll come back-if he'll ever come back. _Maybe for revenge_ , she thinks. _Or to finish what he started_ , as she follows this downward spiral of terrifying thoughts.

The dial tones ring, once, twice, three times. _It never takes this long_ , she thinks. _What could the Fosters be doing?_

"Hello?" A groggy voice answers. Lena must have fallen asleep to the TV again.

"MOM! He's here! You gotta come NOW." Callie screams, shaking.

"Wait. Callie. Slow down." Lena says, unable to understand what's going on or who's she talking about. "STEF! Get to a phone!" She yells in the house.

"He saw me, Jim, he-he... The house. The first time you met Jude. He's here. And he saw me. And there's a power outage. All hell's breaking loose." Callie stammers.

This time Stef answers, "Callie, I need you to calm down, sweets. There's nothing-"

"What if he comes back for me? He knows where I am. I got him arrested!"

"NO. He got himself arrested, _you_ didn't do anything. Can you talk to a nurse?" Stef asks.

"Everyone's looking for help. There's-there's yelling and crying, Mom. I think people are dying out there. Did the blackout reach you?" She says, her voice uneven.

"No, everything's fine here. Lena's going to stay on the phone with you. We're both heading over now, but I have to call the station and report this, okay honey? Lena? You there?" She pleads.

"I'm here. I'm here," Lena says on the phone, as she grabs her car keys. "Just keep talking to me Callie."

"I-I don't know what to do." Callie whispers. Stef disconnects her line.

"You don't need to do anything, Callie. Just stay where you are, we're coming. You hear me?" Lena knows she's losing the battle to whatever is distracting her.

"Um. Lena, I need to go. I'm not safe."

"You are safe. In a hospital with nurses, doctors; this is the safest place you can be." Lena tries to bargain.

"Not anymore."

"Callie. Don't hang up. Callie! CALLIE" A constant tone rings on, Callie ended the call.

Callie frantically looks around at her bed; she throws the sheets off the bed, freeing her lower body, moving her legs to the edge again. She thinks back to how she got down.

Stef and Lena.

 _Should I wait?_ She thinks, calculating how much time has passed from when Jim Pearson saw her to how long the Fosters will get here to how long until he comes back.

She takes the gamble and looks at the wheelchair, trying to aim herself; hoping to position her body so that she can ease herself down.

She hears footsteps. Her heart races. Hands shake. _Now or never_ , she thinks.

Callie hops off the bed to the chair, but the wheels slide as her feet clumsily knock into the footrests. Her grasp can't reach back to the bed, and her only anchor is unreachable. The chair moves out from under her and she falls hard to the tile. She lays there for a second.

 _Stupid_.

She pushes her arms up, lifting her upper body off the cold floor. She's stronger than she expected. Callie plants one unsteady foot on the ground, her balance shaky. Her second foot follows the first and for the first time in weeks her feet feel the weight of her entire body.

It's heavy. It's sustainable, but it's already starting to hurt.

She reaches for the wheelchair that rolled away, but she's caught-restricted by the cables and wires connected to and around her. The blank monitor no longer reads her heart beats per minute, or blood pressure. It'd be blaring if it did.

She rips the IV and measuring wires out of her arm, finger and anything attached to her.

 _I've already wasted too much time_ , she yells to herself, furious.

She rests her hand on her side, feeling for the bandage. Hoping for the best, yet expecting the worst. It seemed fine, while the pain was starting to ignite all over, the central point seemed unchanged. She pulls up the fabric from the bland, nude colored uniform and no longer sees the white gauze covering her stitches.

As she lifted it to see the stitches, there was blood. Not a lot, though.

Callie winces, in pain and in frustration. She pulls the fabric back over fast, probably too fast, but her anger is in control now.

She takes a step forward, uneasy on her feet.

 _Get the hang of this, already!_ She screams at herself.

Callie tries to use her momentum to escape her room, the one place she thought she was safe. She reaches the doorway and places a hand to readjust her balance. She looks left and right, surveying the chaos outside. Trying to search for the face she needs to avoid. Her eyes dart from running kids to overwhelmed nurses and crying parents.

She keeps to the wall, finally able to see who her neighbors are. Curious, she peeks in.

Callie immediately regrets it as her eyes land on doctors trying to revive a middle-aged woman. No equipment is working and Callie rapidly turns away. Her back slamming against the wall, almost bouncing off.

 _Not that way_ , she decides. She grabs the edges of windows, benches, anything to steady herself as she tries to jog down the hall.

 _The wheelchair_ , she thinks. She left the wheelchair in the room. She peers back down the hallway, but shakes her head and moves on. _I've come too far_ , _too much time_.

Her bare feet slap the cold ground as she walks, startled by the chaos and noise. Finally, she reaches a corner and turns to reach a dead end.

 _At least it's quiet_ , she exhales.

Little does she know, her phone vibrates on the empty bed, sheets strewn across the room. The phone goes black, then lights up with the notification:

17 missed calls.

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 **A bit more serious this around, but I like exciting story lines. What do you think is going to happen? Where do you want it to go? R &R!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I left you on a cliffhanger with the last chapter. Does it resolve in this one? Read and find out! Enjoy!**

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 _It's dark_ , Callie thinks. Not blackout dark, like pitch black dark. The sounds in Callie's ears are muffled and she feels heavy. She tries turning her head to understand what's going on, but for some reason she's too weak. Her head is pounding, and can't even seem to lift a finger.

Suddenly, a soft, far away voice whispers, "Hello? You need to wake up."

 _Did she imagine it,_ Callie thinks. The last thing she remembers is being in the hallway alone.

Callie's eyes begin to slowly flutter open. _They were closed_ , she thinks, then another thought: _why were they closed?_

A woman's face fills her sight, there's a hand on Callie's face. It's a nurse. She's young with bright, yet concerned eyes.

"Hey, there you are. I was worried about you." She whispers to a confused Callie.

Callie squints from the light-the light! The lights are back on. But they are too bright for her blurred vision. _When did the lights come on_ , she asks in her mind.

She looks around to see where she is. It's the same hallway. She down, but the ground is closer than she thought. She's sitting on it, actually. As her eyes begin to focus back on the nurse, she realizes it's a young girl. She reads the name tag: Madelyn. She looks back to Madelyn, but the girl's hand is no longer on Callie's face, instead, there's a sudden pressure on her abdomen.

The nurse is treating the wound.

The stitches.

Callie's bleeding. Not a lot, but the nurse seems worried. She is keeping the pressure on the opened stitches.

"What were you doing in this section of the hospital? I found you on the ground. Did someone do this to you?" She asks, worried.

Callie thinks back, trying to locate the answers in her mind. It taking her longer than she wanted to give the nice nurse a response.

"Uh… I got scared from the blackout." Callie says, unsure of its truthfulness.

"It wasn't smart for you to leave your bed, you know." Madelyn says, knowing Callie's keeping a secret and trying to get more information out of her...

"What happened?" Callie asks, changing the subject, but not knowing if she wants to hear her response.

"You're right, there was a blackout and the generator took longer to turn on. It was ten minutes. But a lot happened during that time," the nurse says, starting to get quiet.

 _Ten minutes? It felt longer than that,_ Callie thinks.

"Your wound is bleeding…" The nurse waits, trying to get her name.

"Callie."

"Callie." The nurse finishes. "You passed out and I found you on the floor. You must have fallen, do you remember falling?"

Callie's hand reflexively puts her hand on her head. It's wet.

"It's just a cosmetic scratch. You'll be okay. I did call in help for your abdominal cut. Everyone's very busy, though. A lot of people are in critical condition. This has never happened before and I'd like to apologize." The nurse says, feeling responsible.

"But you... You're just an employee…" Callie questions, wondering how it's her fault.

"I care about all the patients. And for any hospital to lose power is... life-threatening. Especially this hospital. But luckily, it's not threatening-not in your case. Although, I don't want you to move, that will bring you more pain."

"It's already hurting." Callie reveals.

"I thought it might be. I need you to be still. I'm trying to control the bleeding, okay?"

There's a pause between the two girls.

"You still didn't say who did this to you. Are you in danger?" The nurse asks again, waiting for a response. Not sure if she'll get one.

"No. I'm fine." Callie says quickly. Too quickly.

"I'm here to help. Or listen. Are you sure?" The young nurse questions, keeping pressure both on the wound and Callie's story. Callie winces from the pain of it.

Callie thinks for a moment, deciding whether or not what to tell this kind girl.

"Well, I saw a foster father I had and I was worried-"

 _MOMS,_ she thinks. Callie nervously looks around, beginning to shake. Her mind is racing.

"My moms. I need to know where they are. Stef and Lena Foster. Lena and Stef. I called them before-before I, you know, fell."

"Calm down, Callie. I need you to slow down. When did you call them?"

Callie's mind goes blank, not knowing the answer.

"Okay, let me ask my supervisor. I'm going to take one hand off; I need you to replace it."

"What?"

"I need you to put your hand right here," Madelyn places Callie's hand right over hers. "Keep it there."

The nurse uses her free hand to walkie-talkie the names of Stef and Lena. Her hand is bloody and covers her white uniform, but her voice is steady and calm.

A distorted voice is heard through her small speaker, "Yes we have two parents with that name."

"Well, I need a few doctors, too! Now you'll answer?" Then to Callie, "I didn't expect for anyone to hear this."

The nurse begins to get impatient until she sees an orderly rushing past.

"Hey! Give me a hand!" She yells, catching the orderly's attention. They run over and assist the girls.

Callie puts her arm over the orderly as they carry her onto a gurney. Suddenly, two women are running down the hallway-following another male nurse.

"You're not allowed in here!" He yells.

It's Stef and Lena.

"CALLIE." They both shout.

The young nurse that has been with Callie whips her head around from all the noise. She approaches the worried mothers.

"Hi, Callie's mentioned you. She'll be alright. There was a blackout and I found her in this hallway. She's lost a bit of blood-"

Stef looks down at her stained uniform, its obvious-Callie's blood.

"Oh, sweets." Lena walks past the nurse, but Stef gives a kind smile and squeezes the nurse's shoulder mouthing _thank you_. The nurse nods in recognition.

"Moms." Callie says, smiling.

"Don't you dare do that again to us!" Lena raises her voice.

"Lena."

She looks back over to Stef. "Sorry, you had us so worried."

"We need to keep moving, you'll be able to visit after she sees a doctor. I'm sorry. Getting her treatment is my highest priority," Madelyn says as she starts ushering the gurney out of the hallway with the mothers following right behind.

"But when will that be? Why hasn't she seen a doctor, yet?" Stef asks with an even tone, attempting to restrain her extreme emotions.

"Due to the outage, all our doctors our dealing with our criticals. Luckily, I found your daughter before she could get to that stage. It may look bad; however, all Callie's experiencing is discomfort, not danger."

"How did the outage even happen in the first place?" Lena asks, a little more excitedly than Stef.

"I don't have the answer, ma'am. I don't know how this could have happened. And I'm extremely sorry it did." Madelyn acknowledges, but looks down.

Lena exhales in relief.

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Lena and Stef anxiously await outside Callie's room. Stef is leaning forward on jittery knees; Lena has her hand on her back, trying to keep Stef calm. A stark difference from the previous encounter.

The young nurse, Madelyn, comes out of Callie's room with the doctor and walk over to the parents. Stef and Lena pop up and meet them in the middle.

The doctor begins, "She's awake and she's recovering. I've mended her stitches, but now she needs to be very still."

"Thank you, Doctor," the women both say.

He walks away, but the nurse stays.

"Is everything alright at home?" She asks nervously.

"Excuse me?" Stef takes this as an insult.

"Callie mentioned seeing a foster father before I found her. She didn't say much more, other than that he's not her foster father."

"She told you that?" Lena asks, surprised of Callie's candor.

"Yes?" The nurse says, unsure.

"It's just; she's not one to share information…" Stef says, not knowing what else to add.

Lena looks over to Stef then says, "She's had a rough life in the foster care system, but we will be adopting her. Are you able to get a visitor's list? To see who he visited? She was worried that he might come back for her." Lena reveals.

"Okay, she seemed very rattled when she first woke up. Unfortunately, due to confidentiality, I don't think it would be legal for me…" her voice fades away.

"Don't worry, I'll turn a blind eye." Stef says, smiling.

"I'm sorry? I don't think I understand?" Madelyn asks.

"I'm a cop. It's a joke." There's a pause. "Kind of."

"I'll see what I can do." She looks back to Callie's window. "You should go in there, she's been asking for both of you."

"Thanks for finding her and all your help," Lena kindly says.

The nurse leaves, looking back and smiling. The mothers enter Callie's room.

"Hey, sweets," Stef whispers.

"Hey," Callie responds.

There's a quiet moment in the room.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I freaked out." Callie opens up. "That wasn't fair."

"Or safe, love," Stef finishes. "We're just glad you're safe."

Callie opens her mouth wanting to say something, but shuts it again. Lena sees Callie's mental battle.

"Talk us through it. What happened?" Lena asks.

"Jim Pearson, my old foster father. The one that had the gun in my face? He's here and he saw me. I need to go home." Callie's eyes start to well up.

"Love…"

"I was so worried he was coming back for me. It's not safe here. Stef, you need to understand this. It's like protecting the witness. Right? Isn't it?" Callie's voice breaks, she's getting insecure.

"Well-"

"Stef, please." Callie pleads with a tear rolling down her face.

Stef looks over to Lena, their hearts are breaking.

"Let me talk to the doctor. If you don't need hospital assistance, and just need a bed, well you know that we have plenty of those," Stef says, smiling.

"Did he saying anything to you? Anything threatening?" Lena asks, worried for the response.

"No, it's just that I was alone, it was dark. There were so many people yelling, and running around. I couldn't be some sitting duck waiting for him come back." She says angrily.

"There's nothing he can do, hun," Stef says.

Callie looks at her, almost as if she hasn't registered what she says.

"You weren't at that house. You don't know what I went through." Her voice gets deep, quiet and dangerous. "And you can't assume that just because he didn't do something today means he won't do something tomorrow. Alright?" She begins to raise her voice.

Stef and Lena don't say anything and instead wait for Callie.

"I'm used to this, okay? This is how it happens. How it's overlooked. How I end up here-ended up here…" Callie reveals. Thinking back to Liam.

 _It's not their fault_ , she thinks, but another thought pops up, _don't get comfortable. Don't let your guard down._

Lena holds onto Callie's hand and breaks Callie from her stupor.

"Let me rephrase, Callie," Stef states, "there's nothing he can do anymore. We'll be taking you home. I'll get the doctor to approve it. And you'll be in a cop's house. No one's stepping inside without my knowing about it. Deal?"

Callie waits, thankful for Stef and nods her head, "Deal." And then, "Sorry."

"You're right though, Callie," Stef continues, "you know better than us in these situations. And we have to trust your judgment… sometimes. Because your judgment wasn't too clear earlier." Stef reminds Callie.

"Sweets, do you remember how you may have opened up your stitches?" Lena asks.

"Well, I tried getting in the wheelchair you put in my room. I thought it was close enough to hop into…" Callie says, realizing how stupid her idea was.

Stef looks over to Lena with a tight lip, trying not to say anything she would regret.

"Yeah, I know, I know," Callie admits.

"One of us we'll be here until you're transferred. How does that sound?" Lena reassures.

"Thank you. For everything." Callie says, becoming very quiet.

"Let's bring you home," Stef replies.

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 **I'm so excited for the next few chapters, Callie will finally be back home. R &R!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! But it's a happy day, because it's a new chapter!**

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Home.

It was a word Callie was unfamiliar with. Only the Fosters have given her the true definition. A home is safe-it should be safe. _Why wasn't mine?_ Callie thinks. She rolls her eyes, knowing where these thoughts lead-into a downward spiral. But once she starts, it's hard for Callie not to question how she ended up here. Here being a life of looking over her shoulder. Here, a life that took her mother away. Here, a life full of uncertainties and insecurities. But life also introduced her to Brandon and Wyatt, to music, and to Marianna's incessant need to shop. As she tries to focus on the positive, the little voice in the back of her head yells that life gave her Liam. Instead, Liam took a life away-a version of a life Callie doesn't want, or to be reminded of. She squints her eyes, feeling the aches and pains, her memory haunting her with flashbacks.

Houses are different from homes. She and Jude hopped from house to house, being plopped into and out of various family dynamics. She and Jude were never home after the accident, not until the Fosters found Jude, hands pressed to his hears, shaking, as he tried to block out the yelling. Not until Stef pulled both Callie and Jude out of that house. They all rode home together.

Home.

Callie thinks about Jude, Lena and Stef, _Home can be here_ , _with the Fosters,_ _but not here in this hospital_.

After opening up her stitches by hiding from her abusive former foster father, Callie waits for Stef and Lena, or Stef, or Lena-either of them-to come back with good news. Callie knows they are making a good case with the doctors, and at worse, Stef can use her police status to get her out, out for good.

Shuffling feet pass Callie's door, she tenses up, gripping the side of her bed so hard her knuckles turn white. But, an orderly keeps walking, past her room. After the blackout, Callie knows that the doctors and nurses have plenty to do to keep them busy, but each time they walk by, Callie feels uneasy. She hasn't seen Jim since it went dark, but not knowing if he'll come back seems worse than a confrontation. At least if he confronted her, she wouldn't have to imagine what could happen, because usually her imagination runs away from reality.

A hand knocks on the door and Callie jumps, startled from her thoughts. It's Madelyn the nurse that found her in the hallway.

"You look so much better since I last saw you," she smiles.

Callie smiles back, "Thanks to you…for finding me," she says quietly.

"Now, I can't be constantly searching for you, so don't go missing." She disciplines.

Callie nods, agreeing with the nurse.

"Deal. As long as you guys keep the power on."

Madelyn gulps and avoids answering by switching the subject back to Callie, "I've gotten some requests to have you discharged-"

"Yes, those are our requests." Stef interrupts, walking into the room. "I discussed it with her doctor, will you be releasing her?"

"It's not the safest choice," Madelyn responds.

Lena takes a step forward, joining the conversation, "Neither was the hospital half an hour ago. Don't you have contingency plans for power outages?"

Madelyn's eyes look to the floor, embarrassed. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Ma'am? Hun, does she look like a 'ma'am' to you?" Stef asks Lena.

"Yes, I am a grown woman, Stef… manners." Lena reminds her.

"Again, on behalf of the hospital I'd like to apologize for the outage, we're looking into what happened."

"I'm sure there'll be an investigation," Stef answers.

"I have release papers for Callie," Madelyn says, averting the concept of an investigation, "but it comes with conditions." Madelyn has two copies of papers, she hands each of them to Stef and Lena.

"Wait, I get to leave? I get to go home?" Callie asks, full of wonder and surprise.

Home.

"Well, as long as your-Stef and Lena-agree to this contract. It will tell you how long you need to lay down for, when to take the medications and when you'll be able to be more active. Like, going back to school, for an example.

School. A word Callie hasn't thought about in a long time. Other than jokes from Mariana about homework, and a concerned Jude about rumors he heard, she never identified school as a reality-until now.

"School? Isn't it a little early to be discussing that?" Callie asks, nervously.

"Actually, you're closer to being healthy enough for school. As long as the stitches stay as they are, we can clear you for school-and by school, we mean going to your one favorite class. You'll have to work up your strength and energy first, before going a full day." The nurse explains.

"A favorite class?" Stef asked, she turns to Callie, "Do you have a favorite class?"

Callie looks over to Lena, hesitating.

"You don't have a favorite class?" Lena asks, with disappointment.

"Well, I like music, and playing guitar," Callie says.

"Hun, you're not taking a music class," Steff replies.

"I'm sure, you can work it out with your Vice Principal," Lena smiles, winking.

Madelyn steps between the two mothers with a pen, "All I need is your signatures, and we can prepare her for discharge. The quicker this gets done, the quicker you get home, Callie."

Stef looks at Lena, then to Callie. Callie waits for her to say something, but Stef stays quiet.

"Well?" Callie asks. "What are you waiting for? I want to be home."

Stef grins at Callie, takes the pen from Madelyn, and signs. Lena does the same. As Lena returns the pen to the nurse, a tear rolls down her cheek.

"Thank you for finding our baby."

Madelyn nods, and leaves with a smile.

Both Lena and Stef gather around the side of Callie's bed and lean into her, giving Callie a gentle embrace. But a healthier Callie strongly squeezes back, surprising the two.

They all begin to laugh. There is a sense of ease, and a normalcy returns. Callie's laughing changes to crying as she holds her moms, knowing she'll be home with her family. After the stress and pain from the past weeks, this moment feels as it will last forever.

Home is where the heart is. And Callie's heart has lent itself to Jude, Stef, Lena, Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana. Home is wherever they are.

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 **I love the ending on this. Should I keep it going? R &R! What did you think?**


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